un　of　them？〃　I　demanded。

A　smile　came　over　rich　dad's　face。

〃Mrs。　Martin　is　like　a　mother　to　me。　I　would　never　be　that　cruel。　I　may　sound　cruel　because　I'm　doing　my　best　to　point　something　out　to　the　two　of　you。　I　want　to　expand　your　point　of　view　so　you　can　see　something。　Something　most　people　never　have　the　benefit　of　seeing　because　their　vision　is　too　narrow。　Most　people　never　see　the　trap　they　are　in。〃

Mike　and　I　sat　there　uncertain　of　his　message。　He　sounded　cruel；　yet　we　could　sense　he　was　desperately　wanting　us　to　know　something。

With　a　smile；　rich　dad　said；　〃Doesn't　that　25　cents　an　hour　sound　good？　Doesn't　it　make　your　heart　beat　a　little　faster。〃

I　shook　my　head　〃no；〃　but　it　really　did。　Twenty　five　cents　an　hour　would　be　big　bucks　to　me。

〃OK；　I'll　pay　you　a　dollar　an　hour；〃　rich　dad　said；　with　a　sly　grin。

Now　my　heart　was　beginning　to　race。　My　brain　was　screaming；

An

〃Take　it。　Take　it。〃　I　could　not　believe　what　I　was　hearing。　Still；　I　said　nothing。

〃OK；　2　an　hour。〃

My　little　9…year…old　brain　and　heart　nearly　exploded。　After　all；　it　was　1956　and　being　paid　2　an　hour　would　have　made　me　the　richest　kid　in　the　world。　I　couldn't　imagine　earning　that　kind　of　money。　I　wanted　to　say　〃yes。〃　I　wanted　the　deal。　I　could　see　a　new　bicycle；　new　baseball　glove；　and　adoration　of　my　friends　when　I　flashed　some　cash。　On　top　of　that；　Jimmy　and　his　rich　friends　could　never　call　me　poor　again。　But　somehow　my　mouth　stayed　silent。

Maybe　my　brain　had　overheated　and　blown　a　fuse。　But　deep　down；　I　badly　wanted　that　2　an　hour。

The　ice　cream　had　melted　and　was　running　down　my　hand。　The　ice…cream　stick　was　empty；　and　under　it　was　a　sticky　mess　of　vanilla　and　chocolate　that　ants　were　enjoying。　Rich　d