"I did."
"You said Rufus had gone into business in Wall Street."
"So he has. A rich cove's taken a fancy to him, and adopted him as a office-boy."
"How much does he pay him?" asked Martin, considering whether there would be any chance of getting some money out of his step-son.
"Not knowin' can't say," replied Ben; "but he's just bought two pocket-books to hold his wages in."
"You're a humbug!" said Martin, indignantly. "What's the man's name he works for?"
"It's painted in big letters on the sign. You can't miss it."
James Martin considered, for an instant, whether it would be best to give Ben a thrashing, but the approach of a policeman led him to decide in the negative.
"Shine yer boots, gov'nor?" asked Ben, professionally.
"Yes," said Martin, rather unexpectedly.