The rest of that clerk"s face turned as red as his mustache, and the way he slammed the chocolate box into the showcase was a caution! Then I turned to the young woman, who was as sober as a deacon, except for her eyes, which were snappin" with fun, and says I:
"You wanted to see me, I believe, miss. My name"s Zebulon Snow and I"m one of the partners in this jay place. What can I do for you?"
She waited until "Dolph and the broom had moved out to the platform.
Then she turned to me and she says:
"Captain Snow," she says, "I understand that your firm here is intendin"
puttin" in a bid for the window screens at the new hotel at West Ostable. Is that so?"
I was consider"ble surprised, but I didn"t see any reason why I shouldn"t tell the truth.
"Why, yes, ma"am," says I; "we are figgerin" on the job. Are you interested in that hotel? If you are I"d be glad to show you samples of the Nonesuch screen. We cal"late that it"s a mighty slick article."
She smiled, pretty as a picture.
"I am interested in the hotel," she says; "and in screens, though not exactly in the way you mean, perhaps. Here is my card."
She took a little leather wallet out of her jacket-pocket and handed me a card. I took it. "Twas printed neat as could be; but it wa"n"t the neatness of the printin" that set me all aback, with my canvas flappin"-"twas what that printin" said:
GEORGIANNA LENTZ
_Ostable County Agent for the_ _Eureka Adjustable Aluminum Window Screen_
"What?-What!-Hey?" says I.
"Yes," says she.
"Agent for the Eureka Adjusta-You!"
"Why, yes; of course. The Eureka people wrote you that they had given me the agency, didn"t they?"
I rubbed my forehead.
"They wrote my partner and me," I stammered, "that they"d given it to-to a feller named George-er-that is-"
"Not George-Georgianna. Oh, I see! They abbreviated the name and so you thought-Of course you did. How odd!"
She laughed. I"d have laughed too, maybe, if I"d had sense enough to think of it; but I hadn"t, just then.
"You the agent!" says I. "A-a woman!"
"Yes."
"But-but a woman!"
"Well?" pretty crisp. "I admit I am a woman; but is that any reason why I should not sell window screens?"
I rubbed my forehead some more. These are progressive days we"re livin"
in, and sometimes I have to hustle to keep abreast of "em.
"Why, no," says I, slow; "I cal"late "tain"t. I suppose there"s no law against a woman"s sellin" "most any article that is salable, window screens or anything else if she wants to; but I can"t see-"
"Why she should want to? Perhaps not. However, we needn"t go into that just now. The fact is I do want to and intend to. I have secured a boardin" place here in Ostable and shall make the town my headquarters.
This is a small community and one naturally prefers to be friendly with all the people in it. So, after thinkin" the matter over, I decided that it was best to begin with a clear understandin". Do you follow me?"
"I-I guess so. Heave ahead; I"ll do my best to keep you in sight. If the weather gets too thick I"ll sound the foghorn. Go on."
"I am naturally desirous of securin" the hotel screen contract. So, I understand, are you. I have seen Mr. Parkinson, the hotel man, and he tells me that your firm and mine will probably be the only bidders. Now that makes us rivals, but it need not necessarily make us enemies. My proposition is this: You will submit your bid and I will submit mine.
The party submittin" the lowest bid-quality of product considered-will win. I propose that we let it go in that way. We might, of course, do a great many other things-might attempt to bring influence to bear; might-well, might cultivate Mr. Parkinson"s acquaintance, and-and so on.
You might do that-so might I, I suppose; but, for my part, I prefer to make this a fair, honorable business rivalry, in which the best man-er-"
"Or woman," I couldn"t help puttin" in.
"In which the best bid wins. I have already demonstrated the Eureka for Mr. Parkinson"s benefit and left a sample with him. He tells me that you have done the same with the Nonesuch. I will agree-if you will-to let the matter rest there, submittin" our respective bids when the time comes and abidin" by the result. Now what do you say?"
"Twas pretty hard to say anything. I wanted to laugh; but I couldn"t do that. If there ever was anybody in dead earnest "twas this partic"lar young woman. And she wa"n"t the kind to laugh at either. She might be in a queer sort of business for a female-but she was n.o.body"s fool.
"Well," she asks again, "what do you say?"
I shook my head. "I can"t say anything very definite just this minute,"
I told her. "I"ve got a partner, and naturally I can"t do much without consultin" him; but I will say this, though," noticin" that she looked pretty disappointed-"I"ll say that, fur"s I"m concerned, I"m agreeable."
She smiled and, as I cal"late I"ve said afore, her smile was wuth lookin" at.
"Thank you so much, Cap"n Snow," she says. "Then we shall be friends, sha"n"t we? Except in business, I mean."
"I hope so-sartin," says I. "Now it ain"t none of my affairs, of course, but I am curious. How did you ever happen to take the agency for-for window screens?"
That made her serious right off. She might smile at other things, but not at her trade; that was life and death for sure.
"I took it," she says, "for several reasons. My mother died recently and I was left alone. My means were not sufficient to support me. I have done office work, typewritin", and so on, for some years; but I felt that the opportunities in the positions I held were limited and I determined to take up sellin"-that is where the larger returns are.
Don"t you think so?"
"Oh, yes-sartin."
"Yes. I knew Mr. Meyer slightly in a business way. I took the Eureka screen and sold it on commission about Boston for a time. Then I applied for the Ostable County agency and got it-that"s all."
"I see," says I. "Yes, yes. Well, I must say that, for a girl, you-"
She interrupted me quick.
"I don"t see that my bein" a girl has anything to do with it," she says.
"And in this agreement of ours, if it is made, I don"t wish the difference of s.e.x considered at all. This is a business proposition and s.e.x has nothin" to do with it. Is that plain?"
"Yes," says I, considerin", "it"s plain; but I ain"t sure that-"
"I am sure," she interrupts-"and you must be. I wish to be treated in this matter exactly as if I were a man. I wish I were one!"
"I doubt if you"d get most men to agree with you in that wish," I says.