“Marley used to give me some for myself, Cæsar, and I liked it and I didn’t think it was stealing. It was just keeping what one found.”
“But you knew to whom it belonged.”
“Not certain sure, Marley said.”
“What did your mother say?”
“Just that it was stealing. She said, too, lots of people in the world were thieves who didn’t know, and Marley was no worse than many rich men, who just knocked people down to get the best of them. What did she mean, Cæsar?”
“She thought it was as wrong for a rich man to take advantage of a poor man, as for a strong man to attack a weak one, or a cunning man to cheat a simpleton.”
Christopher was conscious he had heard something like this before. He nodded his small head sagely. Aymer went on.
“It really means you must never get money at someone else’s expense. If you can give them something in return, something equal, it’s all right, but it must be equal. That is what your mother believed, and I do too—now.”
Christopher regarded Cæsar thoughtfully. He was speculating what he did in return for the golden sovereigns that seemed so plentiful with him. 43
“We try to give fair exchange,” explained Cæsar, answering his thoughts. “The money comes to us out of the big world. And my father gives the world good service in return. You will know how good, some-day.”