Jones suggested that we could send a man to work the vacuum cleaners, and then, while he was in the house he could sell the woman other things.

"That certainly is a very interesting suggestion," said Martin, "and possibly could be worked. But there's one difficulty. All the ads. of the vacuum cleaner show women and children operating the machine. If we suggested that a man ought to work it, they might wonder what is wrong with the machine--or with us. Besides, Mr. Black, don't you think it would take us too much from our regular work, so that, either there or here, we would have to have extra help?"

After I thought the matter was dropped, Martin said, "Do you think that one dollar is sufficient to charge for a day's use of that machine?

Don't you think we can get two dollars just as easily? Also remember that, if the machine has been out one day, from our point of view it becomes unsalable as a new machine."

"Do you think they will stand for that much?" asked Jones.

"Oh, yes," I chimed in, "I'm sure they will. It is going to save the women two or three days' work; and, as you know, many people hire a man or woman to come for a day to beat the rugs, and they can't get anybody under two dollars a day, and it usually takes them a day to do the job."

So we decided to charge two dollars a day for the rent of the vacuum cleaners.

Charlie Martin suggested that we ought to get up an ad. for the sweeper service. I thought that Fellows ought to do it, but Charlie was so insistent that I told him to go ahead with it.

Jimmy gave us an idea which I thought was pretty good. "Say, Boss," he said, "couldn't we sell baseball goods?"

"Barlow has always handled those," I said, "and--and--" I trailed off to nothing, because I realized that, because Barlow handled these, it was no reason why I should not, and, if I stopped handling everything he did, I would have very few goods in the store. I had had to give up the idea of farm implements, because of the big hold he had on that business, and the amount of money it required to carry the necessary stock.

"I'm captain of the Little Tigers," broke in Jimmie, "and if yer put in baseball goods, why I can get all our gang to buy from here--and, say, I know a couple o' kids that would like to go and see the captains of the other kids' teams around here--especially if you were to give a little rake off."

We all laughed--except La.r.s.en. "That's one of the best suggestions Jimmie ever give us," he said, "Let his pals sell for a commission. They get business we never get."

Here Martin broke in, "I know a house in Boston that would supply us with all the catalogs we wanted, and we could sell from catalog if necessary, and they would give us a substantial discount for any orders we sent them."

"Write to them, Charlie," I said, "and see what they'll do."

What a tremendous lot of different lines there are which a retail store can handle--even if only for a brief season each year--and make some profit out of them! But you sure do have to keep on the jump to think of them all. I know my store would never have been handling the number of lines that we had then, if it hadn't been for the Monday meetings. These meetings seemed to tone up all of us, and, once we had gone on record to do something, we seemed to strive hard to live up to it, so that we wouldn't let the other fellows have the laugh on us, which they certainly would if we had fallen down. It was at that meeting that I suggested a motto. It was this:

"Eternal humping is the price of Success."

I asked Charlie Martin what he thought of it. He said, "It's fine, and if you used the word _vigilance_ instead of _humping_--why you would be only about twenty-five hundred years behind the fellow who originated it!"

The day Betty was to return I was at the station at 3:30, although her train wasn't due 'till 3:55--and then the train was fifteen minutes late! How I fumed and fretted at the inefficiency of our railroad service, but I forgot all that when the train finally puffed into the station, and Betty tripped out of the car, right into my arms. I can't express the happiness I experienced--all the hundred and one things we had to talk over--all the foolish little stunts we did, just like a couple of kids--but both of us supremely happy! I extend my heartfelt commiseration to those poor benighted wights who don't possess a wife.

CHAPTER x.x.xVII

WOOLTON COMES TO TOWN

The next morning, while I was in the middle of breakfast, the telephone rang. I jumped up to answer it and recognized Barlow's voice.

"That you, Black?" he said.

"Yes," I said. "Betty's home: she came yesterday!"

"Glad to hear it," he replied. "I wish you would drop in at the store this morning, if you can; will you?"

"Sure," I answered, but felt somewhat disappointed. He seemed to treat Betty's return as a mere nothing!

When I joined Betty at the table I told her about my automobile arrangement with him. She seemed very pleased at that. Betty thought a lot of Barlow, and I thought more of him than I used to. I had considered him as an old duffer; but I had learned that he was a quiet, thoughtful, progressive business man.

As soon as I got into his store he beckoned me to the rear.

"Say, Black, you've got some vacuum cleaners," he said; "I'm not handling those things, and I wish you'd send one up to the wife. She's always said she wanted one. I'll pay you now--how much?"

I told him the cost price and suggested that he pay me ten per cent.

over that, which he said was perfectly agreeable.

Then he said, "I couldn't help laughing the other day. Martin seemed to be quite worried."

"Worried? What about? He was all right last night."

"I don't mean Charlie; I mean Bill Martin, who runs the garage. It seems somebody said that the Martin who is with you is contemplating getting into the garage business, and Billy Martin thinks that the confusion of names will take a lot of business away from him."

"Who on earth said a thing like that?" I laughed.

"Oh, you know how these rumors get started. They start from nowhere and they carry on indefinitely. The best thing, of course, is to ignore anything like that."

"Funny that the name should be just the same, isn't it? Especially when we--"

He put a warning finger to his lips and then I remembered my promise not to mention to any one our coming deal in automobile accessories and gasoline.

"I told Betty," I said.

"That's all right; Betty has an excellent forgettery."

Just as I was leaving he said, "I understand that your friend Stigler is contemplating getting out of his five-and-ten-cent business."

I grinned. "Made it too hot for him, have I?"

"I don't know about that," he said; "but I understand that Woolton's five-and-ten-cent store people are buying the place, and adding it to their chain. Well, good-by," and he turned abruptly and left me.

When I walked back to the store I felt mighty uncomfortable--Woolton, the biggest five-and-ten-cent chain in the country, next door to me! I hadn't minded somehow, while it was Stigler, because he hadn't sufficient money to carry a big variety of stock as they did. Neither did he know anything about organization, or marketing methods, as the Woolton people did.

As I neared my store I happened to notice Stigler and a short, thick-set man coming out of his five-and-ten-cent store. As they pa.s.sed me Stigler said, "Howdy, Black," with an attempt at joviality. Stigler had been looking much older lately. He wore a worried look.

When I pa.s.sed his store I noticed two dapper young men busily writing. I made the guess that they were stock taking.

I told Martin and La.r.s.en about it. La.r.s.en pooh-poohed the idea of being afraid of the compet.i.tion. Martin felt differently, however.

I expected the Woolton people would take over the store on the first of the month, and if so they would advertise big bargains the day before.

They were sure to have crowds of people visiting them the first two or three days the store was opened, because they always offered as leaders some tremendous values. I mentioned this to Martin.

"The thing we've got to do, Mr. Black, if I may say so," he said, "is to see if we can't get the jump on them in some way, and also trim our windows so as to profit by any one visiting their store."

Jones, who was inclined, like La.r.s.en, to deprecate the idea of fearing them, said, "I guess we needn't worry about them. We're educating the people to buy something better than five-and-ten-cent goods. Just keep up the educating stunt, Boss."