that time on he has always been a pleasant customer. He was a
gentleman-merchant!"

"He's the kind that always gets the best that's coming," broke in two
or three of the boys at once.

"Yes, you bet your life!" exclaimed the shoe man. "If a man wishes to
get the best I have, that is the way I like him to come at me. To be
sure, I do a one price business; but even then, you know, we can all
do a man a good turn if he makes us have an interest in his business
by treating us courteously. We can serve him by helping him select the
best things in our lines, and by not overloading him."

"Many's the way," said the dry goods man, "that we have of getting a
man's ear. In '96 I was traveling in Western Nebraska. That state, you
know, is Bryan's home. Things were mighty hot out there in September,
and nearly everybody in that part of the country was for him; but when
you did strike one that was on the other side, he was there good and
hard! Yet, most of those who were against Bryan by the time September
rolled around were beginning to think that he was going to win out. I
had just left Chicago and had been attending a great many Republican
political meetings. I had read the Chicago newspapers, all of which
were against Bryan that year, and thought that while there was a good
deal of hurrah going on, he didn't stand a ghost of a show, and I was
willing to bet my money on it.

"I didn't have a customer in this town. It was Beaver City. You know
how the stores are all built around three sides of a public square. I
was out scouting for a looker. I dropped into one man's store--he was
a Republican, but he said to me, 'Heavens alive! How do you expect me