"Thank you, sir;" and the little girl departed with her purchase.
Joshua now hurriedly folded up the shawls and replaced them on the shelves. He had just finished the task when Walter entered.
"Are you tending store?" he said, in surprise.
"Yes," said Joshua. "Nichols got tired waiting for you, so I told him I'd stay till you got back."
"I had some distance to go, and that detained me. Did you have any customers?"
"Yes, I just sold a spool of cotton to a little girl."
"I met her a little way up the road, holding the spool in her hand."
"Well," said Joshua, "I guess I'll go, now you've got back."
He went across the street to his father's house, and, going up into his own room, locked the door, not wishing to be interrupted. Then, opening his desk, he took out a sheet of paper, and wrote a note to the address given in his lottery circular, requesting the parties to send him by return of mail a lottery ticket. He added, shrewdly as he thought, "If this ticket draws a prize, I will keep on buying; but if it don't I shall get discouraged and stop."
"I guess that'll fetch 'em," thought Joshua. He folded up the paper, and, inclosing the bill, directed it.