No more trim on the counters and shelves.
Stop the high-power electric light in front of the store and reduce the lamps inside.
These things did not all occur at once, but so gradually that it was hard to realize just what had happened to the store.
The windows got streaky and the inside of the store looked dingy and cold.
Then the conservative spirit got into the buying. Nothing but black cheviots with a few drab and gray worsteds.
Perhaps it was just as well, for when a customer came into the store and saw Stucker he thought it was raining outside.
Sam Lambert had always prided himself on keeping alive what he called the “buying spirit” in the store.
Nowadays a customer got a sense of caution. The feeling was one of disapproval of all extravagance.
Instead of purchasing a suit, the man wondered where his next month’s rent was coming from, bought a pair of cottonade pants and hurried home.
Trade fell off steadily. Affairs went on this way for a twelvemonth and then something happened.