"How much did you pay?"
"Three cents for two."
Ben groaned again, but when breakfast was ready he showed an unusually good appetite, and did not refrain from partaking of the egg, expensive as it was.
Dr. Compton came in the next morning, and pronounced the old man better and stronger.
"Shall I be able to get up soon, doctor?" asked Ben.
"In a day or two, I think."
Ben heaved a sigh of relief.
"I'm glad of it," he said. "I can't afford to be sick."
"Has it cost you much?" asked the doctor, amused.