He waited patiently, considering solicitously twenty inconsequential styles, until the spruce clerk, casually producing the one thing, said:
"Would that appeal to you?"
"It's rather nice," he said, gazing at it. Entranced, he stared on. Then a new difficulty arose. People didn't enter a shop just to purchase one shirt, and, besides, he was known. So he selected three other shirts and added the beautiful green thing to them in an unostentatious manner, saying:
"Send around these four shirts, will you? What's the tax?"
"Very pleased to have you open an account, Mr. Stover," said the clerk. "Pay when you like."
Stover took this as a personal tribute to his public reputation. Likewise, it opened up to him startling possibilities, so he said in a bored way:
"I suppose I might just as well."
"Thank you, Mr. Stover—thank you very much! Anything more? Some rather tasty neckties here for conservative dressers. Collars? Something like this would be very becoming to you. We've just got in a very smart line of silk socks. All the latest bonton styles. Look them over—you don't need to buy anything."
When Stover finally was shown to the door, he had clandestinely and with great astuteness acquired the green shirt on the following terms:
| One green shirt (imported) | $ 5 |
| Three decoy shirts | 9 |
| Four silk ties (to go with green shirt) | 8 |
| One dozen Roxburgh turndown collars (to complete same) | 3 |
| One dozen Gladstone collars (an indiscretion) | 3 |
| One half dozen silk socks (bonton style) | 12 |
| —— | |
| Total for one green shirt | $40 |