"Why don't you?" asked Dick.
"You forget that I am a poor peddler."
"Then how were you able to get so good an education?" asked Dick, in surprise.
"Because I was once better off than I am now. The fact is, Dick," he added, "I have seen better days. But when I was reduced to poverty, I gave up hopes of college education and became what I am."
"Wasn't it hard?"
"Not so much as you might suppose. My home was not happy. I have a stepfather and stepbrother, neither of whom I like. In fact, there is no love lost between us. I was not obliged to leave home, but under the circumstances I preferred to."
"Where are your stepfather and your stepbrother now?"
"They are traveling in Europe."
"While you are working hard for a living! That does not seem to be just."
"We must make the best of circumstances, Dick. Whose is that large house on the left?"