Argosy All-Story Weekly — page 162: what you’re looking at

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

952 ‘“ What’s all this if business??? I asked good naturedly. For even if I hadn’t taken a liking to him it was my business to humor a fellow who sold a car a day: ‘““ Gee, you got a short memory, the an- swer’s the same to-day as yesterday. If I’d only worked in that garage the rest of the week. Twenty-seven contracts in my pocket, one flew away; I hope the other twenty-six will follow. Chickadee, chicka- dee, happy and gay.” Well the next four days he came in with a contract signed each day and a check in full, always muttering; “I could ’ave sold another one if I’d only worked in that gar- age the rest of the week.” He never spoke much to the other men and they never riled him any more. Hirsch started to wear a khaki shirt. *“* Maybe they’ll think I’m a war hero too,” he said, Some of ’em bought checkered caps for luck, but it did no good. And O’Malley kept up his good work. He had never missed a sale a day but just the same never made more than one. Most of my men would chew over a sale every time they made one, tellin’ how they’d put it over and all that bunk, but O’Malley was always mum. One afternoon the old man came outside and said to the Irishman, “Mr. O’Malley, will you give these men a pointer or two. Tell them how you do it.” “ Sure,” he answered all willing. And he got up before the boys and they’re all set for an earful when he said: ‘‘ Workin’ three days in that garage makes it possible for me to sell a car a day and if ’da worked there much longer I’da sold more’n a hun- dred by now. Three measly little contracts sittin’ in a row three measly contracts please don’t fail to go. Chickadee, chickadee, hap- py and gay.” And he walked to the door and went out. “Gone, clean gone,”? said the French- man. “Gone nothing!” bellowed Bowling. “That fellow don’t talk as much as the rest of you, but if you'll use your brains youll take the hint he’s giving you. He worked three days in a garage and probably saw enough broken and dilapidated cars and ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. went to the owners and sold them new ones. It wouldn’t hurt you fellows to hang around a garage and pick up a few pros- pects that way, instead of hanging out at picture shows.” The thirtieth day O’Malley came in with his thirtieth contract. Bowling came out front with the speech that he had prepared and the thousand dollars in money, as O’Malley had asked that he be given the bonus in cash before leaving that morning. . “Mr. O’Malley,” Bowling began very dramatically, ‘“ from the inception of this business I have had to cope with many a salesman and many a sales problem. When you came here there were fifty cars stored upstairs, now there are but ten. You have helped me out splendidly. I take great pleasure in presenting you with this thou- sand dollars.” And he counted out ten new crisp one hundred dollar bills and handed them to the boy. “* Now then,” he went on “ think of whe it has meant to you. A thousand dollar bonus and seven hundred and fifty dollars in commission. Twenty-five dollars a day, a hundred and twenty-five dollars a week. That is nothing to be sneezed at. Why not consider the advisability of staying here and abandon the idea of purchasing the garage or better still you might purchase it and put some one in charge and-in that way you could pick up a world of pros- - pects. You yourself have repeatedly stated if you had worked longer“in that garage you would have sold the cars more rapidly.” The old man stopped to get a rise out of O’Malley. “YT couldn’t just work for the commis- sions,” he came right out. ‘If the same bonus proposition goes I’m on.” The old man is standin’ there thinkin’ and about to speak when the Frenchman got up. ‘Please don’t disturb me, Mr. nand,” Bowling orders. “Well, what I’ve got to say 1s very, very important and I think you should hear it before making any promises to O’Malley. I can tell you just how he sold these cars and if you let him stay on with the bonus proposition you have a good chance of losing the agency.” Ferdi- Ccommicoooks (CO) AA