"But you've got yourself to provide for, as well as your little sister," said the seamstress.
"I can do it," said Rough and Ready, confidently. "Don't you worry about that."
"But it seems as if I was making money out of Rose."
"No more'n she is making money out of you. It's the same for both, as far as I can see," said the newsboy. "Now, how much does it cost you for eatin' a week?"
"About a dollar and a quarter," said the seamstress, after a little thought.
"That's a very little. What can you get for that?"
"There's a small loaf of bread every day. I get that at the baker's round the corner. I don't often get butter, but I keep a little on hand, so that when my appetite is poor I can use it. When eggs are cheap, I boil one for my breakfast."
"Don't you ever eat meat?"
"Sometimes I buy half a pound of steak at the market. That lasts me two days. It strengthens me up wonderfully."
"Half a pound of meat in two days!" repeated Rough and Ready, wonderingly. "I guess you don't know what it is to have a newsboy's appetite."