I was doing some pretty quick thinking while I was standing there, for, while only about half the goods in my sale were kitchen utensils, I certainly had made a big push on those goods.
At that moment Stigler came along from behind me, walked right up to me, and said:
"Howdy?"
"How are you, Stigler?" I returned.
"Fine!" he said. "Enjoying the weather! How do you like my little window, eh? I'm glad to see yer take an interest in what we are doing! Of course, if you ain't satisfied with what you see there, come right along inside and I'll show yer me books!"
"I was just passing your store, Stigler, and, naturally, I looked in your window."
"Sure—sure," he said, nodding his head sarcastically, "you fellers have a habit of passing the store pretty often, don't yer? Quite a clever stunt you are putting up there, with that automatic give-away-nothin' idea. Kinder thought I'd start in the cutting line myself a bit. How d'ye like it?"
"I don't know what I have ever done to you that you should make such a dead set on me."
"N-no?" he returned with a drawl. "Well, I'll just tell yer, young feller. I've just kinder got a fancy to get some more business, and as some of the trade seems to be floatin' around kind o' easy like, I thought I'd just nail it down. And if by any chance some dear competitor"—and his lips curled in derision as he said this—"happens to get in the way, well!—I can kinder be sorry for him like, and perhaps give him a job sometime if he wants one."
Then I had lost my temper.