Eve's Ransom by George Gissing
page 8 of 246 (03%)
page 8 of 246 (03%)
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"Now be careful, my lad," exclaimed Dengate, as again he winced
under the epithet. "My temper may get the better of me, and I should be sorry for it. I got into this carriage with you (of course I had a first-class ticket) because I wanted to form an opinion of your character. I've been told you drink, and I see that you do, and I'm sorry for it. You'll be losing your place before long, and you'll go down. Now look here; you've called me foul names, and you've done your best to rile me. Now I'm going to make you ashamed of yourself." Hilliard fixed the speaker with his scornful eyes; the last words had moved him to curiosity. "I can excuse a good deal in a man with an empty pocket," pursued the other. "I've been there myself; I know how it makes you feel-- how much do you earn, by the bye?" "Mind you own business." "All right. I suppose it's about two pounds a week. Would you like to know what _my_ in come is? Well, something like two pounds an hour, reckoning eight hours as the working day. There's a difference, isn't there? It comes of minding my business, you see. You'll never make anything like it; you find it easier to abuse people who work than to work yourself. Now if you go down to Liverpool, and ask how I got to my present position, you'll find it's the result of hard and honest work. Understand that: honest work." "And forgetting to pay your debts," threw in the young man. |
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