“You will no doubt say, Mrs. Rollinson,” he remarked, “that making money as I do now, and not doing much work for it, we ought to go on a steppin’ up the ladder. Allow me to remind you that sometimes I don’t retain all the cash I receive. Sounds peculiar, but it’s a fact. I find the money that takes the most trouble to get is the money that stays with me longest. Putting that all aside, your view, womanlike, is that we’ve only got one life to live in this world, whatever ’appens to us in the next, and that we’re entitled to make the most of it. You’ll tell me that we both of us had a hard time in the early days, and we’re justified in claiming our reward. And mind you, there’s something in your argument.” Mrs. Rollinson, much astonished at this commendation of her presumed opinions, could find no words either to protest or to agree. She smoothed her crimped hair and bowed. “But perhaps,” he went on in the same amazing tones of deference, “perhaps you won’t mind if I point out that we’re living now in a very fair state of comfort. We have roast meat every other day; if you feel inclined to go now and again to see Mr. Wigan at the St. James’s, why, you’ve only got to say so. And this brings me to the point of what I’m talking about. Why shouldn’t we go on as we’re going now, not wasting money specially, not ’oarding it to any special degree, but going a reg’lar buster in regard to the boy? Giving him chances that his father never had, seeing that he has every opportunity of growing up so that he can take his place amongst the ’ighest of the land? Now then, Mrs. R.! If you’ve got anything further to remark on the subject, here’s the time to say it, or ever after hold your peace.” “Sometimes,” she ventured to remark, “you’ve pitched into me and told me I was spoiling him.” “There’s a right way of doing it,” he retorted, “and a wrong way of doing it.” “And you’ve said, more than once, that to make a man of him he ought to go through the mill, same as what you did.” “There again, there’s two ways open.” “If you can find the right way, Mr. R., I’m perfectly agreeable.” “You’re a wise woman,” he declared, “although very often you manage to conceal the fact. And I promise you faithfully that if you leave it all to me, you won’t have no reason to be sorry!”