"How old are you?"
"Twelve last March."
"Have you ever decorated a church before?"
"No, sir; and I don't expect to decorate it this year. Mother says it takes tall men with ladders, to do that. I only want to supply the evergreens. I'll do it as cheap as any body, sir."
"Where do you live, Richard?"
"I live in Annesley, sir. They always call me Dick at home." He added this with a smile, so full of humor that both the gentlemen laughed.
"Is your father living, Dick?"
"Oh, yes, sir! He is the minister in Annesley."
"And you are doing the business on your own account?"
"Yes, sir. One of our neighbors has a church in the city to decorate every year; and he makes a good deal of money."