“Kind of hinted round.”

“How much did he hint? In dollars?”

“Oh, a little raise. Nothing much.”

“I can’t honestly say”—Jeremy spoke with an effort—“but what the new paper’s a better prospect than this, as things stand. I think you ought to consider it carefully.”

“That’s your best advice, is it?”

“I guess it is, Andy.”

Galpin wandered about the room, arriving by a devious and irresolute route at the door. He opened it, shut it, opened it again, stood swinging it with a smudged hand. “Boss,” he said insinuatingly.

“Well?”

“Speaking as man to man, and not as employee to employer—”

“Don’t bleat like a goat, Andy.”