"I got tired of giving all my wages to her and hearing her talk," he grumbled.
"Why did she scold you?" the social worker asked.
"She didn't think I ought to go out with the fellows. She didn't want me to go to the movies."
"It was only her desire to do the best for you," the social worker explained. "She meant well. You know that boys sometimes get into trouble by hanging around the streets at night."
"She wouldn't give me my money," Tony objected.
"That was because your mother thought the money could be better spent at home. She has to think of the whole family. You want your sisters to be well dressed, don't you? You ought to be proud because she wants to have nice things and because she keeps the house so clean and neat." The social worker now made a direct plea to the boy. "She's lonely without you. She needs some one at home to protect her. If you will come back, she has promised to give you spending money and to let you go out at night."
Tony was plainly appeased by what the social worker told him, but he was too stubborn to yield at once.
