“Fifteen dollars a week.”
Instead of expressing his surprise at the smallness of the amount, Rockervelt merely said:
“Do you get your money?”
“Oh, I see to that,” replied Steele with a laugh; “I am general manager, you know.”
“What salary do you want to take Philip Manson’s place?”
John Steele cast down his eyes, and meditated in silence for a few moments.
“Would fifty dollars a week be too much?” he asked in a tremor.
“It’s rather a jump,” said Rockervelt calmly, “but I think the organisation can stand it, if it is satisfactory to you.”
“It is more than satisfactory to me,” replied Steele, earnestly. He was to learn later that modesty was its own reward. He could as easily have had double the money, and perhaps more. Multi-millionaire as he was, however, Rockervelt was not the man to throw away needless cash.
“We will take that as settled,” he said, and this ended the interview.