“The boss was better,” the boy corrected him. “Fellow who used to own the business knew his stuff. But the new owner—!” He shook his head in disgust. “Our line is smokers’ supplies—tobacco and stuff, see? But sometimes I think he doesn’t know the difference between a good Havana cigar and a—a cigar-store Indian.”
Ken laughed what he hoped sounded like a sympathetic laugh. His mind was racing, busy with the interesting news that the Tobacco Mart had a new owner—a man who seemed to know nothing about tobacco. Sandy, behind him, gave him a poke in the ribs to indicate that he too had heard.
“Too bad,” Ken said. “But I suppose it takes time to learn a new business, if it’s been dumped in your lap unexpectedly—if you inherit it or something.”
“He didn’t inherit this.” The boy moved his packages ahead with a small angry kick. “He bought it. And that’s what I can’t understand. Why? He doesn’t lay in hardly any new stock. Sometimes he doesn’t even bother to fill the orders that come in! So naturally not so many are coming any more. And I’m telling you we used to have orders from all over the country!”
Before Ken could ask him a new question he went on again. He seemed only too glad to talk to somebody who was willing to listen to his complaints.
“I’ve been working there for three years,” he muttered, “after school and on Saturdays and all. But believe me, I’m thinking about quitting. At first I tried to help the guy out—give him a right steer once in a while when I saw he didn’t know anything. But would he listen? Oh, no! According to him, he knows everything.”
“Stubborn,” Ken suggested, his tone still sympathetic.
“Stubborn and dumb,” the boy added. “Finally I said to him the other day, ‘Look, Mr. Grace, why don’t you rent out the second floor now that you don’t need it for supplies any more?’ It’s empty, see? And it could just as well be rented, like the top floor is. But you know what he says? ‘No, Pete,’ he says to me, ‘I like it this way—quiet. Tenants right over my head might be noisy.’ Can you beat that? I know he’s losing money on the business. He can’t even be making expenses, the way he runs things. And here he won’t even try to make a little extra money!”
“Sounds as if you could do a lot better for yourself somewhere else,” Ken said.
“And, brother, I’m going to! Why that—!” The boy broke off as he suddenly became aware that he had reached the head of the line.