I saw Tibbals liked to talk, so I led him on to more details about
Harris.

"Some folks are lucky," said he. "When I came out here in '65 Harris
was a traveling man, but the next January he was given an interest.
The house was old, rich, well known and well liked. They carried
everything in stock from a bar of iron to a knitting-needle. Harris
took the books and gradually got to be the buyer. He used to have some
ambition, but for the ten years last past he takes the world as easy
as if he was a fat old dog."

"Do they still make money?"

"No, I guess not. They don't buy as they used to, and they are always
grumbling. But other men have made lots of money here in these twenty
years and didn't have one-tenth the start Harris had."

"Does he drink?"

"Of course he does. Great Scott! when did you ever see a lazy cuss
that didn't drink? I've often gone over to the billiard-room and taken
his order there. I believe, by thunder, he would leave a customer any
time if a crony came for him to go off on a good time."

I do like to hear an old traveling man. If he has the inclination he
can give one lots of points. Tibbals went on:

"I ran across a man in Seebarger's the other day that I used to know
in Toledo and Cleveland. He was stock man twenty years ago and ten