“I don't feel so bright. The boys have been rushing me the last week or two. Say, trade is booming now!”
“It surely is. I could sell more machines than I've got, but I've got a lot of money standing out, and after the bad harvest last fall, don't know who to trust.”
They compared notes about their customers, and presently the dealer remarked: “Charnock was in a few days ago, asking about a new wagon, a mower, and some small tools.”
“Ah!” said Keller, rather sharply. “Then it looks as if he meant to hold on! He reckoned, not long since, that he'd have to quit. But what did you tell him?”
“To come again. I'd like to keep Bob Charnock up, but guess it's dangerous. Owes me a pile. How does he stand with you?”
Keller supplied the information, and the other looked thoughtful. “Didn't know it was quite so bad as that. I allow I'd better not let him have the goods.”
“Well, I reckon he's trying the new man at Concord. Smith said he met him there yesterday.”
The dealer frowned. He hated to think of a customer going to somebody else. In fact, this was, for a debtor, an unpardonable offense.
“Charnock's trouble is that he's not quite straight. Ought to have stayed with me, told me how he was fixed, and let me see what I could do. If he's going to deal with the new man, I'd better pull him up and try to get my money back.”
“You can't get it,” said Keller dryly. “He can't pay now, and if you let him go on until harvest, you'll have a crowd of others with long bills fighting for what's left.”