Not until nearly noon did Master Williams see his partner, and then he met him by chance on the way to the newspaper offices for a fresh stock.
"How's trade?" Teddy asked.
"First-class. I've taken in eighty cents since I began; but it's slackenin' off a little now. How're you gettin' along?"
"Great! It seems as if it wasn't any trouble to sell papers to-day. Say, at this rate we can get in a bigger stock by night."
"That's what we want," Carrots replied, gravely, looking as serious as if he had just been called upon to decide a very important question relative to some business policy. "We ought ter make as big a show as we can, 'cause folks will see the stand has been opened ag'in, an' they'll look 'round the first thing to find out if we've got much of a stock. Of course we're goin' to keep all the weekly papers, ain't we?"
"I don't know if we ought ter put out so much money yet a while."
"'Course we ought. Pitch in an' have things fine. We can 'ford to invest what's been made to-day, and you'd better buy the stuff right away," Carrots said as he handed Teddy the money he had earned. "I'll get more between now an' night to buy the supper with, so you don't want ter tend to anything like that."
Teddy was undecided as to whether this would be a wise move, so soon after taking upon themselves the expense of paying rent; but his partner was so eager it should be done that he finally consented, and hurried away to buy the additional stock, while Carrots searched for customers.
It seemed strange to both the merchants that Skip Jellison made no effort to annoy them on this day, and they could account for it only on the supposition that he did really intend to carry out his plan of destroying the packing-case home by fire.
No one should censure Carrots for ceasing his labors at an unusually early hour because of the fact that he was exceedingly anxious to see his place of business in full operation, with a clerk behind the counter.