from the walls.

"I don't see any sleeping accommodations," said Mrs. Hoffman, looking
around.

"I will put a bed into either room," said the landlady. "I have
delayed doing it till the rooms were let."

"How do you like it, mother?" asked Paul.

"Very well, but----"

Mrs. Hoffman hesitated, thinking that the charge for such
accommodations would be beyond their means. Paul understood, and asked
in his turn:

"How much do you ask for these rooms by the month?"

"With the small room upstairs besides?"

"Yes."

"Thirty dollars a month."

Mrs. Hoffman looked at Paul in dismay. This was more than three times
what they had been accustomed to pay.

"We can afford to pay more than we have hitherto," he said in a low
voice. "Besides, there is the furniture."

"But thirty dollars a month is more than we can afford," said his
mother uneasily.

"My mother thinks we cannot afford to pay thirty dollars," said Paul.

"The price is very reasonable," said the landlady. "You won't find
cheaper rooms in this street."

"I don't complain of your price," said Mrs. Hoffman, "only it is more
than we can afford to pay. Could you take less?"

"No," said the landlady decidedly. "I am sure to get tenants at that
price."

"Then, Paul, I think we must look further," said his mother.

"If you don't find anything to your mind, perhaps you will come back,"
suggested the landlady.

"We may do so. How much would you charge for these two rooms alone?"

"Twenty-six dollars a month."

The prices named above are considerably less than the present rates;
but still, as Paul's income from his business only amounted to fifty
or sixty dollars a month, it seemed a good deal for him to pay.

"We may call again," said Mrs. Hoffman as they went downstairs. "But
we will look around first."

"How much do you think we can afford to pay, Paul?" asked Mrs.
Hoffman.

"We can easily afford twenty dollars a month, mother."

"That is more than three times as much as we pay now."

"I know it, but I want a better home and a better neighborhood,
mother. When we first took the other rooms, six dollars a month was
all we were able to pay. Now we can afford better accommodations."

"What other rooms have you got on your list, Paul?"

"There are some rooms in Prince street, near Broadway."

"I am afraid they would be too high-priced."

"At any rate we can go and look at them. They are near by."

The rooms in Prince street proved to be two i