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“Well, I planked up the fourth 250, and won. Then I let the whole 500 lay and–“

“You are pipe dreaming, Wood,” spoke up one of the boys.

“Jim, I can prove this by you. You’ve seen worse things than this, haven’t you?”

“Bet your life, Wood,” and Jim whispered to one of the boys, ‘Wood can prove anything by me.’

“I let the 500 lay on a copper and I won. From that time on I made no bet for less than half a thousand. At one time I had the dealer pretty close to the bank but I didn’t quite put him ashore.

“Well, to make a long story short, when I quit I was just a thousand to the good. Next day was Sunday. There was a picnic out a mile from town. I said:

“‘Well, gentlemen, I’ve done my best to relieve my friend here of all he has, but I can’t do it. I am a little to the good and I want you all to go as my guests tomorrow to the picnic. In on this?’ said I, and Ed, among others, nodded.

“I didn’t tell him who I was and I didn’t ask him who he was. I took it for granted if he said he would go along, he would. Next day a whole van load of us went out to the picnic. We had a bully good time. When we got into the wagon I introduced myself to all the gentlemen, not telling them what my business was. When Ed told me his name, he said, ‘I’m a resident of this town in the clothing business. Where are you from?’ I said, ‘I’m from Chicago and I’m in the clothing business, too, but don’t let’s talk business. We’re out for pleasure today.’ ‘Well, that suits me,’ said Ed, but when we got back to town that night I dropped the rest of the bunch and asked him in to supper with me. Nothing too good for him, you know. And while he was under the spell I took him into my sample room that night. You ought to have seen the order that fellow gave me. It struck the house so hard when I sent it in to them that they wired me congratulations.”

“Are you still selling your friend Rubovitz, Johnnie?” asked our friend, who had just told us his story, of one of his competitors.

“Sure,” said Johnnie, “and the boy, too. Yes, why shouldn’t I?”

“Well, I guess you should,” said Wood.

“Yes! when I was in the old man’s store on this last trip, I felt really sorry for a first-tripper who struck him to look at his clothing. That fellow hung on and hung on. I was sitting back at the desk and he must have thought I was one of the partners because I was the first man he braced and I referred him to the old gentleman.”

“Well, wasn’t that sort of a dangerous thing for you to do?” asked one of the boys.

“Not on your life. You don’t know why it is I have the old man so solid. I’ve got the hooks on him good and hard, you know.”

“Well, how’s that?”

“Oh, it came about this way,” said he. “When I was down in Kansas City a few years ago, when I had finished selling Ruby,–as I always called him, you know–(he came in from out in the country to meet me this time) I asked him how my little sweetheart was getting on. She, you know, was his little daughter Leah. She was just as sweet as she could be,–great big brown eyes and rich russet cheeks, black curls, bright as a new dollar and sharp as a needle.

“‘O, she iss a big goil now,’ said my friend Ruby. ‘Say,’ said he, ‘who vass dot yong feller in the room here a few minutes ago?’ He referred to a young friend of mine who had chanced to drop in. ‘De reeson I ask iss I am huntin’ for a goot, reliable, hart-workin’ Yehuda (Jewish) boy for her. I vant her to get married pretty soon now. She iss a nice goil, too.’