e guessed they were going to have some; and then asked how
business was, anyway.

I told him our business had almost frightened us.

He said that was good.

Frank, who was sitting behind the stove listening to the conversation,
said, as I passed by him a moment later: "I guess he'll lay still now."

About this time we received a letter from a sewing-machine agent at
Hicksville, saying he would trade a machine for a County right. We left
forthwith, without even bidding the landlord good-bye.

It took us four days to trade for the machine, and money enough to pay
our expenses for that time.

We shipped the machine to Napoleon, and returned there ourselves on the
first train. When we entered the hotel, we both rushed for the
proprietor, saying, as we grasped his hands:

"How are you, landlord? How is everything? Did you think we had left for
good, landlord? Hope you didn't think we had jumped our board-bill?
Guess we'll take a wash. Put us down for a good room, landlord. How are
the cream biscuit? Suppose we'll have some for supper. How are all the
folks?"

He looked a little woe-begone, and said he was glad to see us back; and
he knew we would turn up soon.

The next morning we had the sewing-machine set up in the hotel office.
This seemed to console the landlord somewhat, as it was a brand new
machine.

However, he appeared crest-fallen, a day or two later, when we sold it
for forty dollars cash, and pocketed the money, saying nothing.

In a couple of days we took another sudden departure, for Bryan, Ohio,
where we traded for an old horse, harness and wagon.

The horse proved to be an obstreperous, balky thing, and as contrary as
a mule. I used all of my knowledge of horse-training, with no effect.
One day, just when he had balked, we met some boys near a corn-crib, on
their way home from fishing. One of them had a long fishing-rod and a
stout line, I gave him twenty-five cents for it and asked him to bring
an ear of corn from the field. He did so, and after tying the corn to
the end of the line, I held the pole over the horse's head, and let the
corn hang about two feet from his nose. He started right off, and we had
no further difficulty in persuading him to go.

[Illustration: EASILY PERSUADED.--PAGE 176.]

If we failed to hold the corn in plain sight he would stop at once.

We hacked around over the country, first one holding the pole and then
the other, becoming so accustomed to it that we often wo