"Well, Rupert, what business did the superintendent have with you?" asked Harry Bacon, Rupert's most intimate friend in the store.
"Only to tell me that I was discharged," said Rupert, quietly.
"Why, that's a shame!" exclaimed Harry, impetuously. "What are you discharged for?"
"Only on account of dull times. The house will give me a recommendation."
"It seems too bad you are to go. Why didn't they discharge me, too?"
"You have been here longer, and it is only those last taken on who must go. I suppose it is all right, but it is hard."
"Keep up your courage, Rupert. It isn't as if you were discharged for cause. With a recommendation from Tenney & Rhodes you ought to find another place here."
"Yes, in ordinary times, but you know business is dull elsewhere as well as with us. It isn't a good time to change places."
"Well, you'll get something else. All branches of business may not be as dull as ours."