On asking what a clean field meant, Edward was told that—so far as the Company knew—no other highminded young men or women had tried to induce the mothers of North Berkeley to buy Milton. Edward was glad of this. He could imagine that a busy mother called repeatedly to the door to show reason why she should not buy Milton for her boy would in time become difficult to deal with.
Five dollars a day was thirty dollars a week. He could live on two dollars a day and save half his earnings. On a hundred and fifty dollars he thought he could get to China. He could save a hundred and fifty dollars in ten weeks.
He was not often so full of hope.
First he went out with another public-spirited young man by whose skill he was supposed to learn and benefit. This young man had facetious and astonished eyes, a fat, ingrowing nose, and tight high-waisted clothes which proved him to have had the Western equivalent of a college education.
Edward was much impressed by his methods. The first house they invaded was a lonely eccentric house crouching behind a thin mask of young eucalyptus trees. In the garden a Japanese was working, and from him Edward’s instructor ascertained that the mistress of the house was not at home and that even if she had been at home she would have been found to be childless. Undaunted by this, the instructor, followed by the surprised Edward, ran towards the house holding out eager hands towards a female “help” who was shaking a mat out of the garden door.
“Has she gone? Have I missed her?” wailed the instructor in a poignant voice.
“Do you mean Mrs. Watson?” asked the credulous help sympathetically. “Yes.... Why, isn’t that just too bad! She went out on a errand. She’ll be right back, I guess. Don’t you want to come in and wait?”
“I’ll say I do,” said the instructor, rubbing his hands together and hissing inwards through his teeth in the manner of a real family friend. He went into the living room. “Gee, it’s good to be here again.”
The reply of the admiring help was an offer of drinks for him and Edward.