him
till he was ready to quit, I stepped up briskly and said:

"Mister, have you got either State or city license to act as an
auctioneer, or to hawk goods upon the street at public sale?"

He said he didn't need any.

"Very well, sir," I said as I climbed in the cart and forced him out,
"as this is America, where one man's rights are as good as another's, I
guess I can get along without license if you can."

The crowd laughed again and he stepped off without molesting me
further. The only satisfaction I experienced was that of beating him at
his own game, and I had gotten rid of him without having to show up my
receipt.

When it was given to me by one of the State officials, he remarked that
while he didn't think I would be likely to get into any difficulty so
long as I could show it up, he was certain that by law I had no
authority to sell till I had procured the license. I therefore thought
best to avoid showing my receipt till the very last resort. I made
several other sales there, but was not molested again.

Our next town was Marquette, where our success was far beyond our
expectation. I remember the first night I sold there, just as I had
started in and was having a big run, a tall, slim man with a very
intelligent face and a large, red nose, but rather roughly dressed, came
rushing through the crowd, swearing at the top of his voice and calling
me all manner of names. I shouted at the very top of my voice:

"Stop, sir! Stop right where you are!" And as he obeyed me I said:

"Don't you advance another step, sir! If you open your mouth again I'll
have you arrested!"

"Hic--hic--what for?"

"For violating the revenue law," I quickly answered, discovering he was
intoxicated.

"Hic-for-hic-for violating the revenue law, did you say?"

"Yes sir, that's what; and as sure as you open your mouth again I'll
have you arrested. You are old enough and have had experience enough to
know better than to come out here on Main Street and open a rum-hole
without paying license!"

The crowd yelled and screamed and whooped and shouted with unusual
enthusiasm, which at once convinced me that I had struck something
different from the ordinary, and my opinion was fully confirmed when he
commenced to laugh, and stepping within my reach began buying my goods
as fast as I could hand them to him. He never opened his mouth, but kept
reaching for the goods as fast as I could count them and pass them out,
and handed me a doll