Socratic heard him through; then said: "I'll look your business over, tell you the troubles, and show you how to remedy them for one hundred dollars."
"Oh, I couldn't afford to pay that much, the way business is now," Brainerd objected.
"How much, then, do you figure it would be worth to you to have your sales and profits climb back to high-water mark?"
"Oh, that would be worth thousands of dollars, of course. But can you guarantee me any such results?"
KEEPING THE APPOINTMENT
"Well, if you carefully study over what I tell you, and faithfully follow my advice, and the results are not satisfactory, you need pay me nothing. Is that agreeable?"
"Sure! If you can show me how to bring my profits back to normal, I'll gladly pay you two hundred."
"It's a go!" said Socratic. "Have the contract drawn up ready to sign when I call to begin my examination. When shall that be?"
"Well, let's see. I'm so all-fired busy it's hard to find time for anything. Say early next week sometime."
"All right. What day?"