“Well, we may take it yet,” answered Sanger, “if the old lady’ll come down a bit on her price.”
“Oh, then it isn’t rented?” asked Hansel in simulated surprise.
“It wasn’t yesterday,” answered Sanger. “Did you hear that it was taken?”
“N-no, only I know that there was some one looking at that room two nights ago, and I heard that they liked it first rate. But maybe they haven’t actually taken it yet. Too bad, though, for that was certainly a dandy room. Well, I hope you find something, Sanger.”
“Maybe you’ll decide to go with your present landlady,” suggested Bert. “It isn’t bad across the railroad, they say. I never knew any fellow that lived there, but I’ve heard that if you didn’t mind kids it wasn’t so bad. Of course, it’ll be a pretty fierce walk in winter!”
“Oh, I’m not going there,” muttered Sanger. “That’s out of the question. I’ll find a place to-day or to-morrow, all right. If you see Phin Dorr, Dana, I wish you’d find out about that room for me. And if it isn’t rented you might tell him that I’m thinking about it, and will pay two dollars and seventy-five cents. It’s worth that, don’t you think, Bert?”
“Sure! It’s worth what they ask, I think.”
“Not at this time of year,” said Sanger doggedly.
“I don’t see that the time of year has got much to do with it,” said Hansel a trifle impatiently. “You say yourself that there are only three or four rooms vacant that you’d have and that you can’t get even those. Seems to me the supply and demand are only about equal. Considering the scarcity of good rooms I don’t see why the landladies don’t put their prices up instead of reducing them!”
“But who do you suppose are after rooms now?” asked Sanger. “Awfully funny, I call it. I’ll bet the women just tell me that to make me pay their prices. I don’t believe they’ve given refusals to folks!”