when I related my experience of a few days
before about the stolen trunk and the final collapse, he said he had
heard all about it, but was surprised to hear that I was the unfortunate
loser. He frankly confessed that the last house and lot had been sold
and the money spent before he had settled down to business. The last I
heard of him he was still holding his position and working hard for a
promotion.

A few days after my arrival at Fargo, I received over two hundred
dollars' worth of goods from Chicago, which came at a very opportune
time.

The few days I had to wait there I put in with the "Incomprehensible,"
with good results.

The holiday trade was now approaching and I made money fast. I again
adopted my old tactics of opening up to every one, from the hotel porter
and chambermaids to the merchant of the highest standing; and I never
lost an hour or even a minute when there was the slightest prospect for
making a sale. The result was, that after closing out my stock just
before Christmas and returning to Chicago, I brought back over nine
hundred dollars, which left me six hundred clear after paying the
wholesale house the last bill of two hundred and an old account of one
hundred dollars.

A few weeks after my arrival in Chicago, I made over six hundred dollars
in one day in a way that will perhaps be worth relating. An old
acquaintance of mine who was in the auction business was in the city
buying goods. I accompanied him to a large wholesale house to buy
notions, and while picking out the stock, a messenger-boy delivered a
telegram to the manager of that department. After reading it he said to
us that it conveyed the information that the manufacturers of cheap
shears had formed a combination and had advanced the price nearly one
half. I excused myself immediately and started on the run to the
different wholesale houses with which I had previously dealt, and
bought all the shears they had at the old prices, and after making a
payment down took a receipt as payment on a certain number of dozen
shears at a certain price to be delivered on a certain day. I made the
rounds as rapidly as possible and bought out several dealers before they
had received their telegrams. The next day all I had to do was to call
at their stores and sell out to them at the advanced price, receiving my
money back and a good round profit besides.

It was my intention to start out on the road again as soon as the dull
season after the