Argosy All-Story Weekly, June 27, 1925 — page 164: what you’re looking at

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

38 char, calm night, sitting in a dark room with all Hight excluded, there is a way of tunine that permits vou to see the whole aNar firmament in the mouth of your loud speaker. = I've always thought that that was a lot of bunk, but—well, we'll see. One aight I dropped into Doc's store around eight thirty to watch him make a few “erades,” as he invariably called his sales. He was looking kind of glum, and I surmised that he must have turned a pretty bad bargain somewhere along in the after- noon, and wouldn’t be worth while talking to that evening, and I was just about getting ready to go home again when in came the prettiest girl I ever laid eyes on. She was about twenty or thereabouts, and dressed up to the minute. “Want to look at a five tube set, neutrodyne circuit,” she said to Doc. “ Yes, ma’am,” replied Doc, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. He loved to bargain with women because they were so much shrewder than the men usually. “I got some of the finest five tube neu- trodynes in the city, madam; of course, thev're all secondhanded, but, most of ’em is as good as new, and I guarantee every set to work; if it don’t you're at liberty to bring it back and have it fixed free of charge, or get another one, just as you like. Anyone who has done business with me will tell you that Doc Edwards is strictly on the square.” “Yes,” agreed the young woman, look- mg at me curiously out of the corner of her eye, “several people I know in the neighborhood have spoken very well of you to me; I have every confidence in you.” She lowered her head for a moment after ums remark, and Doc shot a glance at me m hign giee, a glance which said “‘ Watch me!” I, however, was busy watching the girl. I must admit that it had been a long time since I had seen a pretty woman who in- tereSted me so much. She was the kind that even I, confirmed batchelor that I am, would have considered furnishing up a flat for and being led off, bound willingly hand and foot, to the altar. “ Now here is a set,” began Doc, leading ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY, her over to inspect a real secondhand outfit, in fairly good condition, though a Jittle old. “You can pick up the whole United States with this, and possibly some points in Europe. I'll guarantee it absolutely, and if you can’t get the Coast after you’ve had it thirty days you may bring it back to me and J’ll return your money.” The girl looked interested. “How much?” she inquired, glancing over at me in a confidential sort of way as much as to say, ‘‘ You won’t let him take advantage of me, will you?’’ I smiled back reassuringly, and thought I detected just the faintest answering smile, “ Well, I) tell you,” said Doc. “I like you somehow, you're the kind of person who will boost my business in the neighbor- hood, so I’ll just let you have this set for a hundred and nine dollars and fifty cents, which, you can see, is dirt cheap.” The girl looked a little surprised. “Why,” she stammered, in patent con- fusion, “I couldn’t think of paying that much for a set; fifty dollars would be my limit.” Doc looked pained and took out a corn cob pipe and lit it before replying. “Well,” he said, at last, ‘I’d be losing quite a bit if I let you have it that cheap; but, as I said before, once in a while I make an ‘ advertising sale,’ that is, I let some one have a set real cheap because I think he’s the sort of person who will boost my busi- ness in the neighborhood. Now, if you'll promise not to tell any one how much you paid for this set I’ll split the difference be- tween your price and mine with you, mak- ing the total cost of this excellent set, to you, and to you only, seventy-nine dollars and seventy-five cents; and, at that price, you're getting a set below cost.” still the girl looked a little doubtful. She glanced over at me, and I was sure I detected the faintest suggestion of a com- panionable smile this time. “Well,” she hesitated, “ may I try it out for a few moments?” “Certainly,” said Doc, for this tickled him; he considered a customer seventy-five per cent. sold if he could get them to tuning a set themselves. COnniEaoo () SS Co