"Does he strike you as a good manager?"
"He keeps down expenses. The clerks say that he pays poorer wages than anyone in the trade."
"That isn't always the sign of a good manager," said Seth Lawton, slowly. "Clerks will always work better for a generous employer. So, on the whole, Ezra may be considered well-to-do?"
"Yes, sir."
"I am always glad to hear that my friends—and relatives are prospering."
"You don't look as if you were very prosperous yourself," thought Scott. "I suppose you, too, are a poor relation."
"How much does Ezra pay you?"
"My board."
"That wouldn't be bad if you were a stranger. But how do you manage about clothes?"