“I had not said much about my trading junk, thinking that he might regard me as a business rival, but one evening when we were encamped on the edge of the river I had the case of hats opened, as I had noticed the ants coming out of the crevices and wanted to see if the goods were damaged. I drew one of them out, punched it open, and was examining it, when I happened to glance at Frederick, who was standing near. His eyes were fairly bulging and his loose mouth agape.
“‘Why have you those hats, Doctor?’ he gasped, in astonishment.
“‘Trading stuff,’ I answered. ‘Do you think that the natives will like them?’
“‘The natives! But they are far too good! They are beautiful hats, such as gentlemen wear in the United States, are they not?’
“I glanced at him curiously, and saw that he was looking at that hat as a starving man might look at a loaf of bread. Really, in spite of Meyers having given him what would be equal to a good high-school education, the man was simple as a savage, and he had never been away from the Orinoco.
“‘You appear to admire them,’ I answered, carelessly; ‘perhaps you might like one yourself. They are light, and should be cool.’
“His eyes glistened; he could hardly thank me, he was so pleased. I overhauled the lot until I found one that fitted him, and after that he wore it constantly, to the great admiration of the native crews.
“A few days later we found the tribe, with whom I immediately opened negotiations. They were remarkably quick in learning what was required of them, and they were pleased with my goods. Especially they admired Frederick, who went about clad in bright yellow puttees, moleskin trousers, a white drill tunic with a military collar, and a fawn-colored opera hat. It seemed to me that the elegance of his attire had some good effect, for he certainly had great authority with those red Indians—more than I.
“Things went on swimmingly for a while; the savages brought me in specimens of every description; my packing cases were becoming filled, and it looked as if, where my part of it was concerned, Billings University might yet have Putney University ‘bluffed off the boards.’ The interest of the natives had begun to flag slightly, but I had refreshed it by serving out the harmonicas and jew’s-harps—a step which I soon regretted, as my camp became a nightmare of sound. A fortnight later, business becoming slack again, I served out the opera hats, and whipped up their ardor still further by exhibiting the spectacle frames.”
Leyden paused and chuckled into his pipe until the sparks spouted from the big china bowl like a roman candle.