I answered some questions which he asked; and then, in turn, grew a little inquisitive. By this time we had got back in the corner, with no one to hear us if we talked in a moderate tone, and he spoke very freely.
He admitted that he had made a very fair evening’s work of it. The pens he sold at twenty-five cents a dozen cost him thirty-five a gross, and the boxes and penholders were not sufficiently expensive to make a very large hole in his profits. He thought perhaps he would remain in the place at least for another day. “The pen business,” he said, “is only a side line, to work in the evenings, and I haven’t covered the town yet in my canvass.”
“Then you don’t confine yourself to the sale of pens?” I asked. I had supposed the profits of the evening were sufficient to satisfy almost any man.
“Not by a jug full,” he answered; “you’ve only got one life at your finger ends, and if you want them to stick fast to much of anything you’ve got to keep moving. And then, you’re liable at any moment to strike a town that has been worked on some particular racket, and you’ve got to have another up your sleeve. I have half a dozen of them. If a place isn’t ripe for one, another is sure to win.”
“Good! You are just the man I have been wanting to see. Don’t you need an apprentice? I have never done much open-air talking to a crowd, but I have always had an idea that I would be great at something of that kind.”
My blunt proposition took him somewhat aback; but he saw that I was in earnest, and looked me over.
“My friend, you appear as though you might be cut out for a business man. I don’t, as a rule, need any help, but if you have a little money, and think I can do you any good, I don’t mind giving you a start. I can’t do anything with you in this town, though. You have given them all an idea of what your line of business is, and for the present couldn’t change the opinion. You couldn’t give away a box of pens and throw in a dime. You’ll have to wait till we get to the next place. Then you’ll find out pretty quick what you are good for.”
I was well enough satisfied with this, as the night before our haystack had been uncomfortable, and I had a feeling that I not only wanted a good night’s rest, but that I had earned it, and the following day I rested, accordingly.
“Do you know anything about music?” my companion asked, as we prepared to leave the place.
I answered that I did; that I had some knowledge of notes, was particularly apt at catching up a tune by ear, and even had a smattering knowledge of the piano and violin.