or dinners or
parties for the boy. And it isn't going to take any time at all to
keep these four rooms clean and sweet."

I took the rest of the week as a sort of vacation and used it to get
acquainted with my new surroundings. It's a fact that this section of
the city which for twenty years had been within a short walk of my
office was as foreign to me as Europe. I had never before been down
here and all I knew about it was through the occasional head-lines in
the papers in connection with stabbing affrays. For the first day or
two I felt as though I ought to carry a revolver. Whenever I was
forced to leave Ruth alone in the house I instructed her upon no
circumstances to open the door. The boy and I arranged a secret
rap--an idea that pleased him mightily--and until she heard the single
knock followed by two quick sharp ones, she was not to answer. But in
wandering around among these people it was difficult to think of them
as vicious. The Italian element was a laughing, indolent-appearing
group; the scattered Jewish folk were almost timid and kept very much
to themselves. I didn't find a really tough face until I came to the
water front where they spoke English.

On the third morning after a breakfast of oatmeal and hot
biscuit--and, by the way, Ruth effected a fifty per cent. saving right
here by using the old-fashioned formula of soda and cream of tartar
instead of baking powder--and baked potatoes, Ruth and the boy and
myself started on an exploring trip. Our idea was to get a line on
just what our opportunities were down here and to nose out the best
and cheapest places to buy. The thing that impressed us right off was
the big advantage we had in being within easy access of the big
provision centres. We were within ten minutes' walk of the market,
within fifteen of the water front, within three of the square and
within twenty of the department stores. At all of these places we
found special bargains for the day made to attract in town those from
a distance. If one rose early and reached them about as soon as they
were opened one could often buy things almost at cost and sometimes
below cost. For instance, we went up town to one of the largest but
cheaper grade department stores--we had heard its name for years but
had never been inside the building--and we found that in their grocery
department they had special mark-downs every day in the week for a
limited supply of goods. We bought sugar this day at a cent a