Adventure Magazine, March 1916 — page 129: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Too Much Business In the morning he stepped over to the laundry. Miss Kitty merely glanced at him as he came in, and said: “Mrs. Doyle is at home, ill.” Matt politely expressed his regrets, and added: “Tt is unfortunate, because I’ve a notion she would listen tome. I’ve signed up with the White Star. It will take away a bunch of business from you, and all the others; but I’ve been thinking it over, and I haven’t the heart to push you—that is, your moth- er—to the wall. There’s a way out, if you’d care to have me tell you.” Miss Doyle came over to the counter and rested her arms on it. Apparently her mood had changed, for she smiled at him pleasantly. “Just what is this joke of yours?” she challenged. ‘‘It is awfully hot to be going around stringing people for the fun of it. It must be something new. What is it?” Matt’s brown eyes smiled into the gray ones—a friendly smile that deepened hers. “Thank you,” he said fervidly. ‘I was beginning to think January had left an ici- cle here in Statesburg that July couldn’t melt. Please don’t freeze up again when I tell you that though it’s something new it is not a joke at all—’”’ she stiffened instant- ly—“‘unless you consider this a joke.” He spread béfore her the Shifter con- tract. She allowed her eyes to rest upon it, raised them distrustfully to his, then, at his urging, lowered them again and read down the lines. “Tt was you,” laughed Matt, “‘who were having your little joke with me, Miss Doyle! Fifteen per cent.? You didn’t mean it, of course. Twenty is common, and twenty- five not unusual, I’m told.” She acknowledged this with an absent nod. Her brows were drawn in perplexed consideration of the contract. “Six hundred dollars a week?” Why, how Ss She stopped, appealing to him for the so- lution. Matt explained. He could do it now, for he was safeguarded at all points. The girl listened, doubtfully at first; hurled questions at him next; and, at last, settled to a consuming interest which held her dumb. ‘As I understand it from my attorney, who seems to be a rather well-posted man,’ Matt concluded, ‘‘the White Star isn’t a 127 popular institution with you other laundry ~ people. That cut-rate war wasn’t a thing any of you enjoyed too much, I imagine; Shifter isn’t the sort of person you’d lose an arm for. Well, here’s your chance to even up. Let me show you.”’ Whereupon Matt, who was by now be- hind the counter in agreeable contiguity to the girl, carefully sketched for her the plan that had occurred to him over his pipe the night before. It was a new angle to his proposed campaign, yet in no way inter- fered with the main issue—it helped. And there were possibilities in it of further profit to Messrs. Bailey and Mitchell not unpleas- ant to contemplate. When he came out, an hour later, Miss Kitty companioned him to the door, She gave him a cordial hand at parting, and a brilliant smile that followed him across the way, for he turned to see. She was a won- derfully pretty girl! V faa THERE are times in a man’s life s@; when all things conspire to balk him, : from the elusive collar-button in the morning to the just-missed five-o’clock for home at night. And there are other times, rare indeed as rain when needed, in which his every undertaking flows as smoothly to success as rivers of oil over beds of glass. This latter luck was Matt’s in his present undertaking. He started in with a larger crew of sales- men than he had intended doing; for his ads had drawn to him men of ability not only from the city but from neighboring towns. He had half a hundred to pick from, and at the end of an afternoon of gruelling catechism he found himself with twelve who had qualified, and three others worth serious consideration. He subdivided his districts to make ter- _ ritory for additional men, and in the morn- ing he sent his expeditionary force of twelve hot-foot into the fray. That they fought valiantly was evinced by the telegram Luke ~ Mitchell received in Pittsburg the following day, and which Old Pilkins picked up, later, from his office floor: First round. Twelve men knocked out an aver- age of nine orders each. Total, one thousand and eighty dollars. Watch it grow. On Friday the total number of sales Eomichoo <S on (E(0)