CHAPTER XSTRIKING A BALANCE
It is not to be supposed that devotion to baseball dulled the partners’ interest in their business venture. That was still absorbingly exciting. Every morning at a little before eight either Joe or Jack, or sometimes both of them, went to the Adams Building and superintended the opening of the stand for the day’s business. The counter was dressed with its magazines and boxes of confections and newspapers, the cash register set up and unlocked, and business was talked over with Young. In the afternoon, usually a little after five, both boys returned and Young, giving an account of his stewardship, went off. Young had turned out very satisfactorily and his employers were a little ashamed of their suspicions regarding his integrity. It only proved, Joe declared, that it didn’t pay to judge a fellow by his looks. Young was a smart salesman, polite in an off-hand way, and, so far at least, had neither caused shrinkage in the cigarette stock or made away with a penny of cash. Consequently both Joe andJack tried to be friendly with him. That they couldn’t quite succeed was not for the want of trying. There was just one thing that they found objections to, and that was the fact that the news-stand was fast becoming a favourite loafing place for a number of the town’s “sports,” men and boys of about Young’s age who had no apparent occupation save that of smoking cigarettes. They had spoken to Young and he had agreed to do what he could to keep the fellows away, but matters did not seem to mend and the partners daily feared to receive a protest from Mr. Adams.
Meanwhile the stand had branched out into new avenues of trade. The “Adams Building Cigar” had appeared on the market and had met with favour and rapidly increasing sales. A small advertisement in the morning and evening papers had drawn attention to the cigar and to the news-stand and the latter was no longer dependent on the occupants of the building alone for patronage. The little shop became a popular place and trade increased until, especially during the noon hour, it was all Young could do to attend to customers.
A week or so after they had started in business they had been called on by a young man who had proclaimed himself rather importantly to be arepresentative of theEvening Recorder. The result of his visit had been a half-column story in the next day’s paper of the novel store where customers helped themselves and paid on honour. It was a big advertisement for the little establishment and for several days afterwards folks came in just to see it and, usually, purchased something if only because of the novelty.
Post-cards, too, were added, a series of six views of Amesville scenes, and attained such popularity that Joe’s original order had to be quickly duplicated. The picture of the Adams Building especially sold like hot cakes. Puzzles were another addition to the stock, ingenious contrivances of metal or wood or tin that could be dropped in the pocket and that sold for exactly double what they cost when purchased from the news company. The cigar trade, however, was what accounted for most of the business done. The little showcase was no longer too large for its contents. On the contrary, it became more of a problem every week to find room in it for the goods they wished to display. Instead of five brands of cigars they now offered twelve, and of each brand they had to keep in stock from two to four sizes. Cigarettes and smoking tobaccos had also multiplied, while the top of the showcaseheld an assortment of gum, candies, and small confections, as well as the revolving post-card rack. In fact, the small space was already overcrowded and the boys had been for some time contemplating making a request to Mr. Adams for a shelf across the back to hold the cash register and the overflow from the case.
One evening Joe and Jack arrived at the building in a pelting rain which had appeared without warning, and the exclamations of dismay which he overheard as the feminine population of the building faced the alternative of getting wet or being late for supper put a new idea in Joe’s mind. The next day a sign appeared over the stand: “Umbrellas for Rent.” They put in a dozen cheap cotton umbrellas which, if not much to look at, performed their mission satisfactorily. Customers, if they worked in the building, merely left their names, paid a quarter and were supplied with protection from the rain. In the course of time the dozen dwindled to five or six, but by that time each had paid for itself thrice over and instead of wasting effort in recovering the missing ones Joe bought more. About this time an automatic telephone instrument was installed on the counter and proved a great convenience to the boys and to others as well.
At the end of the first four weeks of business the partners went over their books—or book, to be more accurate. They found that they had expended for stock, rent, clerk’s wages and incidentals the sum of $226.50, that they had taken in $324.17, and that their net profit was $97.67. While less than the estimate Joe had made, the amount was held to be satisfactory, for Joe’s estimate had taken no account of clerk’s wages and they were paying Mr. Chester Young ten dollars a week. Something like thirty per cent. profit ought to have satisfied anyone!
They paid off all indebtedness—there were no accounts save that with the news company, which they settled weekly—set aside the amount due Mr. Adams for rent to date and halved the balance, each receiving as his share the sum of $48.83. The odd cent was left in the treasury! Then Joe paid back to his partner the borrowed thirty dollars, with interest at six per cent., although Jack insisted that Joe should wait until the end of the next month at least. But Joe preferred to get square, he declared, and proceeded to do so by paying most of the eighteen dollars remaining to him to Aunt Sarah for board and rent.
Jack’s father laughingly told them that hethought they had been in rather a hurry to divide the profits and that it might have been a good idea to have left a portion of the money in the business. Joe, however, explained that they would have to buy nothing for nearly a week, except the newspapers, and by that time they would have accumulated more profits. “You see, sir, we’re taking in about fifteen dollars a day on an average, and of that nearly four dollars and a half is clear profit. So we won’t have to keep any balance on hand.”
“I see,” said Mr. Strobe gravely. “And what do you intend to do with all the money you make, boys?”
“I’m going to put mine in the bank, I guess,” answered Jack. “I’ve tried to think of something to spend it for, but I can’t!”
“And how about you, Joe?”
“I think I’ll start a bank account, too, sir, but I won’t be able to for another month at least. I pay three dollars a week to Aunt Sarah, you know, and I’d like to send a little money to my mother.”
“You could have done that now if you hadn’t paid back that thirty,” said Jack reproachfully.
“I know, but I like to feel that I’m squared up with everyone. When I get, say, five hundredin the bank, if I ever do, I’d like to invest it in something, Mr. Strobe. Could I, do you suppose?”
“Certainly. An excellent idea, Joe. You might find a small mortgage through the bank, or you could buy a few shares of some safe stock that would pay from four and a half to five per cent. You’ll get only three and a half from the savings bank. When you get ready to invest you let me know and I’ll help you find something.”
One Saturday evening Joe boarded a train and went to Columbus to visit his mother, spending a very pleasant Sunday with her and returning to Amesville late that night.
If there was anyone even distantly connected with Joe’s business venture who did not thoroughly approve of it, it was Miss Sarah Teele. Aunt Sarah was doubtless pleased that Joe was earning money; she had a very healthy admiration for folks who could do that, and a correspondingly poor opinion of those who couldn’t; but the fly in Aunt Sarah’s ointment was the fact that her nephew’s prosperity was due to the sale of cigars and cigarettes and tobacco. That rather spoiled it all in her eyes, for she was a fervidly outspoken foe to tobacco in all forms, and considered the use of it closely akin to the use ofintoxicating liquors. Aunt Sarah made one exception. A decoction of tobacco and water was an excellent preventive of bugs on her window plants! If she could have had her way she would have limited its use to that purpose. Consequently, from the first, she had viewed Joe’s venture askance, hinting darkly that money earned by catering to the vice of smoking was tainted money and would bring no benefit to its possessor. Joe argued with her politely, but was quite unable to shake her conviction. In the end they agreed to disagree, Aunt Sarah comforting herself with Joe’s solemn promise not to allow the association with what Aunt Sarah termed “the filthy weed” to undermine his morals to the extent of causing him to smoke. For some weeks Joe frequently found Aunt Sarah regarding him anxiously as though seeking for signs of moral degeneracy produced by traffic in the obnoxious article. Not discovering any, however, Aunt Sarah accepted the state of affairs with the best philosophy she could command, and, to Joe’s satisfaction, said no more about it. When he announced the result of that first month’s balance his aunt’s struggle between pleasure and disapproval was almost ludicrous.