"The thing we've got to do, Mr. Black, if I may say so," he said, "is to see if we can't get the jump on them in some way, and also trim our windows so as to profit by any one visiting their store."
Jones, who was inclined, like Larsen, to deprecate the idea of fearing them, said, "I guess we needn't worry about them. We're educating the people to buy something better than five-and-ten-cent goods. Just keep up the educating stunt, Boss."
"You will find," said Martin, "that the Woolton people will make their store as bright as possible, and I am afraid that ours will look a little dull in comparison."
When Stigler had had the store fitted up he had had some very powerful lights put in, but he had never used them much. My store was not any too bright, although, of course, like him, I used electricity.
"I tell you what we'll do," I said. "We'll have an electrical display in both windows and, for the first week, we'll try to get a bigger blaze of light in our windows than they will have. We'll display the best quality goods that we can, so as to avoid any attempt at competition with them, but we'll make our store so bright that every one going to their store for bargains will be impressed with our up-to-dateness."
That is what we decided to do.
Martin had given me his handbill advertising the vacuum cleaners. On the next page is a copy of it.
I had had Roger Burns around for dinner the previous Sunday. He used to go to school with Betty and me, so of course when I told Betty that the New England Hardware Company, for which Roger was working, had made him manager of its chain store in Farmdale, the first thing she said was that we must ask him for dinner.
While Betty and the Mater were clearing away the dinner things, I asked Roger how business was coming along.
LET INVISIBLE HANDS DO YOUR HEAVY CLEANING