ave you for good."

He shook my hand warmly, but looked uneasy and bewildered.

He talked, undertaking to let his conversation drift towards the matter
of our indebtedness. Finally I got the floor, and talked at lightning
speed, paying him so many compliments, in the presence of his guests,
that he was completely non-plussed, and at a loss to know how to act.

Suddenly, seeming to realize that something of much importance had
escaped my memory, I said: "By the way, landlord, we haven't settled our
bill, yet. How much do we owe you? Make out the bill. Mighty lucky I
thought of it."

"By gracious, that's so! That's a fact. You haven't paid your bill yet,
have you? Oh, well, I knew it would be all right, anyhow."

After paying up in full, we received loud praise from him, and his
assurance that the best his house afforded would never be too good for
us, whenever we saw fit to stop with him; and said if we would stay a
week longer he would have cream biscuit every meal.

CHAPTER XIV.

OUR TRIP THROUGH INDIANA--HOW I FOOLED A TELEGRAPH OPERATOR--THE OLD
LANDLORD SENDS RECIPE FOR CREAM BISCUIT--OUR RETURN TO OHIO--BECOMING
AGENTS FOR A NEW PATENT--OUR VALISE STOLEN--RETURN TO FT. WAYNE--WAITING
SIX WEEKS FOR PATENT-RIGHT PAPERS--BUSTED--STAVING OFF THE WASHERWOMAN
FOR FIVE WEEKS--"THE KID" AND 'DE EXCHANGE ACT'--HOW THE LAUNDRY WOMAN
GOT EVEN WITH US--THE LANDLORD ON THE BORROW--HOW WE BORROWED OF
HIM--REPLENISHING OUR WARDROBE--PAYING UP THE HOTEL BILL.

We then made a trip through Indiana, and met with virtually no success
at all; and very soon paid out almost our last dollar for actual
expenses.

One day we had occasion to go to a small station to take the cars for
Fort Wayne, when the telegraph operator left his office for a few
minutes to go after the mail.

I stepped to the instrument, called the Toledo office, and sent a
message to our late landlord at Napoleon, as follows:

"Send to my partner and me two dozen cream biscuit to Fort Wayne,
express prepaid. We need them."

After checking the message _dead head_, signed my name, and returned to
the waiting-room.

When the operator returned, the Toledo office, whose duty it was to
transfer the message to Napoleon, called him up and asked who Johnston
was; and wanted to know further, why his message should be dead-headed.
The operator answered that he knew nothing about it, and didn't think it
was his business to inquire into other people's affairs.