"I won't sell any other."

I was curious to know why.

"Just because I like Hulburt; he's one of the nicest men there is in
New York, and I'm going to handle his cartridges every time."

"But," said I, and very cautiously, "don't you find some trade that
will insist on having the other brands?"

"Yes, and they can go somewhere else and get them. I wouldn't buy a U.
M. C. cartridge if there never was any other. Reachum uses their goods
to cut prices with, and, d--n 'em! they can sell him, but they can't
sell me."

I finished the bill, then chatted awhile with him about trade.

"There's no money in business," said he; "times were when you could
make a profit, but nowadays it is a struggle to see who can sell the
lowest. There's a revolver that I bought of Tryiton for 53 cents, and
our men say he has advertised it all over for 55 cents. How the devil
am I to pay freight and sell for 2 cents profit? There is no such
idiocy in any business today as in the gun trade. A jobber has to
fight against every other jobber and the manufacturers too. The U. M.
C. folks are said to back up Reachum, and Simmons is supposed to have
Winchester behind him, and away they go, seeing who can cut the most
and be the biggest fool."

"But is it not so in other lines?"