atent washing machine. We there succeeded in effecting a trade in our
patent, and also found a customer for a large sale on the washing
machine, for which the agent paid us liberally.

The two trades netted us thirteen hundred dollars in cash and a fine
horse, harness and carriage.

We then drove over to Elmore, where I had left my wife and boy. After
leaving her money enough to convince her that she would not be pawned
that week we started the next day eastward, stopping at Fremont for
supper about six o'clock.

We had traded the State of Illinois in our patent to a gentleman in the
lightning-rod business, and that night while walking up street we
noticed a large crowd of men standing on the corner talking.

We stepped across the street to see what the excitement was.

On looking over the shoulders of the men we saw our customer, the
lightning-rod man, standing there holding his pitchfork in one hand and
valise in the other. We were about to crowd in when we heard him say:

"Well, if I can find them I shall have them arrested and replevin the
horse."

Frank and I then held a short consultation. Our first idea was to go to
him and ascertain what he meant by saying he would arrest us. We felt
certain we had violated no law, or at least had no intention of doing
so. But after reconsidering the matter we concluded that he was simply a
"squealer," and as we had made a square, fair trade with him we decided
to let him find us instead of our looking for him.

Our experience of a few days before with the writ of replevin had been a
very good lesson. We didn't consider it worth while to deliberately turn
our stock over to "squealers," when they were taking so much pains to
hunt us up, and especially when we stopped to realize that in dealing
with a lightning-rod man it was simply a case of "diamond cut diamond."
We therefore started East that evening, arriving at Cleveland a few days
later.

On reading the late daily papers which we always made a practice of
doing, we found several long articles about two men visiting Findlay
with a patent right and how they had taken a handsome horse and carriage
and several thousand dollars in cash for which they gave worthless
deeds.

We also read a full description of ourselves and the horse and buggy and
that a liberal reward would be paid for our capture and return to
Findlay.

We were at a loss to understand the meaning of all this, and called on
one of the best lawyers in