Saturday was to be "Opening Day," and the very earliest people on their way to market saw the two boys working like beavers to get the place to rights in good season. By the time the village boys and girls had breakfasted the new store shone out in all its glory, with the sign "Stanley Brothers" the most conspicuous thing about it.
The marbles and other small articles were arranged as neatly as possible in boxes on the irregular little shelves. Some old story-books with the boys' dictionary were piled modestly in the background, while the jar of sour-balls and the row of tasty little bouquets were paraded on the counter.
This plan, however, did not work well, for the boys found themselves obliged to keep a sharp eye on these attractive goods to prevent their being snatched by evil-disposed visitors, and it was very harassing. The business had been so well advertised beforehand, at recesses and on other occasions, that the whole juvenile population made a point of repairing thither in the course of the day. Most of them came only to look, but that was to be expected on Opening Day.
The boys had not thought of putting up a notice to the effect that it was no trouble to show goods; but if they had, that day's experience would have decided them against it. Some of the boys, and girls too, for that matter, were very provoking, and insisted on seeing everything that was in the store, when they had not the least intention of buying anything.
Some of them, too, were very frank in expressing their opinion about the stock. They would not open a store at all if they could do no better than that.
But the very worst of it all was that all the boys that did want to buy always wanted to trade off something else for the goods; and the girls were more unreasonable still, for they thought that Bob and John ought to be willing to sell everything for pins.
By noon the boys were beginning to feel quite dejected. To be sure, they had taken in a few cents for sour-balls; but then they had reason to believe that several had been feloniously abstracted while the throng was greatest—for part of the time the little counter had been lined three or four deep—so that, on the whole, they would probably lose on this most popular article. Bob and John each ate a sour-ball to restore their spirits.
"They'll melt in this bright sun," said Bob, "and the flowers are wilting. We had better put them back in the shade. What shall we put front instead?"
"Slate-pencils," suggested John.
"Pooh! Catch a boy buying a slate-pencil on Saturday."