his to Ruth, she cried a little. Truly our cup
seemed full and running over.

CHAPTER XIV

FIFTEEN DOLLARS A WEEK

My first thought when I received my advance in pay was that I could
now relieve Ruth of some of her burdens. There was no longer any need
of her spending so much time in trotting around the markets and the
department stores. Nor was there any need of her doing so much
plotting and planning in her endeavor to save a penny. Furthermore I
was determined that she should now enjoy some of the little luxuries
of life in the way of better things to wear and better things to eat.
But that idea was taken out of me in short order.

"No," she said, as soon as she recovered from the good news. "We
mustn't spend one cent more than we've been spending."

"But look here," I said; "what's the good of a raise if we don't use
it?"

"What's the good of a raise if we spend it?" she asked me. "We'll use
it, Billy, but we'll use it wisely. How many times have you told me
that if you had your life to live over again you wouldn't spend one
cent over the first salary you received, if it was only three dollars
a week, until you had a bank account?"

"I know that," I said. "But when a man has a wife and boy like you and
Dick--"

"He doesn't want to turn them into burdens that will hold him down all
his life," she broke in. "It isn't fair to the wife and boy," she
said.

I couldn't quite follow her reasoning but I didn't have to. When I
came home the next Saturday night with fifteen dollars in my pocket
instead of nine she calmly took out three for the rent, five for
household expenses and put seven in the ginger jar. I suggested that
at least we have one celebration and with the boy go to the little
French restaurant we used to visit, but she held up her hands in
horror.

"Do you think I'd spend two dollars and a half for--why, Billy, you
wouldn't!"

"I'd like to spend ten," I said. "I'd like to go there to dinner and
buy you a half dozen roses and get the three best seats in the best
theater in town," I said.

She came to my side and patted my arm.

"Thank you, Billy," she said. "But honest--it's just as much fun to
have you want to do those things as really do them."

I believe she meant it. I wouldn't believe it of anyone else but for a
week she talked about that dinner and those flowers and the theater
until she had me wondering if we hadn't actually gone. Dick thought we
were crazy.

And so, just a