“Therefore, remember, gentlemen, I am not conscientiously, virtuously, righteously nor religiously, but just good naturedly, giving these goods away.
“Here is this watch, now; a fine Elgin, with a twenty-year case set in two plates of gold, adjusted to both heat and cold, with economical hair spring, regulated by sun, moon and stars, and it will even tell you the price of cheese in Canada. I’m not going to force you to take it at this moment, and as no one seems ready to make a decent bid I’ll lay it by until the gang gets in from the railroad, and switch off on to this elegant suit of underwear.
“How much am I offered to start it, the choice with the privilege? Remember, these garments are all wool, through and through, double-hitched and double-stitched, ribbed up and down, as perfectly seamless as the leg of a woman’s stocking, and guaranteed to live three years without washing. The winter days are fast coming on, when underwear will be more precious than diamonds, and the tariff will send prices up a-booming. Take a pair of these drawers homeland after wearing them all winter you can sneak around to some dressmaker in the spring, and she can fix them so the old woman can wear them next summer. Now, don’t all bid at once. Yes, yes, I’m listening. That’s right. Keep it up. You can’t all have this one pair, and they go to that man over there, cheap as dirt and good as gold. Here’s another suit. Shall we start them where the other left off—and who speaks first?”
The second set went higher than the first, and there was no trouble to close out the entire line, for the articles were good lookers and, as I had told them, the season was coming when they would be needed. The watch went later on at a very good price, and, in fact, the entire stock of stuff rattled off like hot cakes, whilst I succeeded in keeping the crowd in good buying humor to the very last. It took several weeks to finish up the job, but when the hammer came down for the last time I had cleaned out everything, even to the empty boxes, and Carlysle had in his pocket several hundred dollars. I received a hundred for my labors, and might have had more, but I did not care to rob a man who had been my friend and had risked my gaining experience and confidence at his expense. We got out of the place together, but I dropped off the train at the next considerable city and, like Alexander, looked around for more worlds to conquer.
CHAPTER VI.
Getting a Knowledge of Scheme Goods—Frightening the Ladies—Trick at Church Fair—Street Work—The Catchy Little Lookbacks—Giving Them Away—The Horse and Loaf of Bread Trick—Handling Microscopes.
I now had capital enough to purchase a stock of goods and to embark in the business of traveling salesman and fakir after the most approved fashion.
Unfortunately, perhaps, I had no such stock to my hand, and as yet not sufficiently versed in the ways of the trade to know exactly what I wanted, or where to get it. At present I was inclined to wait until I could hear from Dr. Carter before making any investment. I was willing to trust to his judgment, rather than to anyone else, as to what would be a swift selling novelty, and how to handle it.
Later on I was seldom thus at fault.