"No, Mr. Sylvester, it would seem like six years to me."
"Even if your wants were all provided for in that time?"
"I feel that I ought to be at work, and not depending on your generosity. I would rather work for two dollars a week than remain idle."
"That is the right spirit, Rupert. You will be glad, then, to hear that I have at last found employment for you."
"But I thought you just said——"
"That I could not get you a place in Pearl Street. True, but this is a different position—very different. It is that of bell-boy in a hotel."
"What are the duties, Mr. Sylvester?"
"You will be at the command of the clerk, and will have to run up and downstairs, answering calls from the guests, or carrying messages from the office. In fact, you will be a general utility clerk, and I have no doubt will get terribly tired the first few days."
"Never mind. I can stand that. If I make enough to pay my way I shall be satisfied."
"You will be better paid than if you were in a mercantile house. You will receive five dollars a week and get your meals at the hotel."