tle group who were house-hunting; two
young women and a little boy. The mother of the little boy, so she
explained to him, was married to one of the burnishers in the factory;
the other woman was her sister.

Geary showed them about the little house, very eager to secure them as
tenants then and there. He began to sing its praises, its nearness to
the factory, its excellent plumbing, its bathroom and its one stationary
washstand; its little garden and its location on the sunny side of the
street. "I'm a good landlord," he said to them, as he ushered them into
the kitchen. "Any one in the row will tell you that. I make it a point
to keep my houses in good repair and to keep them clean. You see, I have
a man here now cleaning out." Vandover glanced up at the women an
instant. The two of them and the little boy looked down at him on all
fours upon the floor. Then he went on with his work.

"This is the kitchen, you see," pursued Geary. "Notice how large it is;
you see, here are your laundry tubs, your iron sink, your boiler,
everything you need. Of course, it's a little grimy now, but by the time
the man gets through, it will be as clean as your face. Now come
downstairs here and I'll show the basement."

In a moment their voices sounded through the floor of the kitchen, an
indistinct, continuous murmur. Then the party returned and passed by
Vandover again and stood for a long time in the front room haggling. The
cottage rented for fifteen dollars. The young woman was willing to take
it at that, but with the understanding that Geary should pay the water
rent. Geary refused, unwilling even to listen to such a thing. Every
other tenant in the row paid for his own water. The young women went
away shaking their heads sadly. Geary let them get half-way down the
front steps and then called them back. He offered a compromise, the
young women should pay for the water, but half of their first month's
rent should be remitted. The burnisher's wife still hesitated, saying,
"You know yourself this house is awfully dirty."

"Well, you see I'm having it cleaned!"

"It'll have to be cleaned pretty thoroughly. I can't stand _dirt._"

"It _will_ be cleaned thoroughly," persisted Geary. "The man will work
at it until it is. You can keep an eye on him and see that the work is
done to suit you."

"You see," objected the burnisher's wife, "I would want to move in right
away. I don't want to wait all week for the man to get through."

"