ave so much and others so little?"

"It beats me, mother. But I don't think either of us would exchange
places with Silas Tripp with all his money. By the way, mother, Mr.
Tripp is a widower. Why don't you set your cap for him?"

Mrs. Rand smiled, as her imagination conjured up the weazened and
wrinkled face of the village storekeeper, with his gray hair standing
up straight on his head like a natural pompadour.

"If you want Mr. Tripp for a stepfather," she said, "I will see what I
can do to ingratiate myself with him."

"No, a thousand times no!" replied Chester, with a shudder. "I'd rather
live on one meal a day than have you marry him."

"I agree with you, Chester. We will live for each other, and hope for
something to turn up."

"I hope the first thing to turn up will be an increase of salary.
To-morrow is New Year's Day, and it will be a good time to ask."

Accordingly, that evening, just as the store was about to close,
Chester gathered up courage and said: "Mr. Tripp."

"Well, that's my name," said Silas, looking over his iron-bowed
spectacles.

"To-morrow is New Year's Day."

"What if 'tis? I reckon I knew that without your tellin' me."

"I came here last New Year's Day. I've been here a year."

"What if you have?"

"And I thought perhaps you might be willing to raise my salary to four
dollars a week," continued Chester, hurriedly.

"Oho, that's what you're after, is it?" said Silas, grimly. "You think
I'm made of money, I reckon. Now, don't you?"

"No, I don't; but, Mr. Tripp, mother and I find it very hard to get
along, really we do. She won't have any more shoes to bind for three
months to come, on account of the shoe shop's closing."

"It's going to hurt me, too," said Silas, with a frown. "When one
business suspends it affects all the rest. I'll have mighty hard work
to make both ends meet."

This struck Chester as ludicrous, but he did not feel inclined to
laugh. Here was Silas Tripp gathering in trade from the entire village
and getting not a little in addition from outlying towns, complaining
that he would find it hard to make both ends meet, though everyone said
that he did not spend one-third of his income. On the whole, things did
not look very encouraging.

"Perhaps," he said, nervously, "you would raise me to three dollars and
a half?"

"What is the boy thinkin' of? You must think I'm made of money. Why,
three dollars is han'some pay for what little you do."

"Why, I work