CHAPTER XIII
A GOOD START
Frank did not go to sleep again, he couldn’t. As he lay there, it seemedto him as though every nerve in his body was wide awake and on a terrifictension.
Frank had heard of some of the great inventions of the world discoveredin a dream. Had he, too, in a dream, or a half-waking doze, had the sameexperience.
“It came like a flash,” he reflected. “It’s plain as day now. The applecorer improved, remodeled, in perfect working order and a success. Oh, Isimply can’t lie here.”
Frank wriggled and tossed restlessly. Then, when he was certain thatMarkham was asleep again, he slipped quietly out of bed, put on part ofhis clothes and glided noiselessly downstairs.
Frank softly closed the store door communicating with the hallway. Helit a lamp and went over to a counter containing the great heap of applecorers.
He selected one, got a sheet of tin and a pair of stovepipe shears, andbecame engrossed in cutting out and forming cones, funnels and all kindsof odd-shaped contrivances.
For fully two hours Frank was working at his task. He seemed to besupplying the crude apple corer with an inner sheath, to which he hadsupplied a small three-bladed device. He turned it about, altered it,worked over it, and a broad smile of satisfaction stole across his faceas he progressed.
“Frank, this is not sleeping.”
Frank looked up from his task, quite startled, to find his motherstanding a few feet away, watching him.
“I know it isn’t, mother,” he responded gaily. “It’s work, good work,too, so it couldn’t wait.”
“But, Frank--”
“Listen, mother,” he said, “I have dreamed out an invention. Really Ihave. If my improved apple corer works as I think it will, this is alucky spell of wakefulness. I don’t want to say much about it till I amsure of it, but I believe I have invented something practical and ofvalue.”
Frank treasured his little model in his pocket, and consented to go backto bed now. He was up bright and early. First thing he was down in hiswork shop. At breakfast he was more quiet than usual. Frank was doing agreat deal of thinking.
“I have certainly got the patent right bee in my bonnet,” he reflected.“It’s a fascinating little insect. Ah, Markham, we were going to let yousleep till you were rested up completely,” added Frank, as their guestput in an appearance.
Markham was pleasant, polite and contented. He put some things in orderfor Mrs. Ismond, offered to help her with the dishes, and wentdownstairs finally to join Frank.
“Now then,” he said briskly, “I’m fed up and rested up--what is there todo?”
Frank explained about the needle packages. He told Markham as well as hecould what towns in the vicinity had been covered.
“There’s a row of little settlements to the east,” he explained. “Youcan use my bicycle if you like and give them a call.”
“This is real life,” jubilated Markham, as he set off on the wheel witha hundred packages of the needles done up in a cardboard box.
Frank received visits from several of his boy employes that morning.Then he set about disposing of some odds and ends of the salvage stockabout town.
From two till five o’clock he was busy working on his “patent.” Fromthen until six o’clock he wrote several letters, went out and mailedthem, and kept thinking and planning on the mail order business.
Markham, dusty and tired, wheeled up to the store about seven o’clock.He had an immense bouquet of wild flowers, which delighted Mrs. Ismond,to whom he gracefully presented it.
“What a day it has been for me,” he exclaimed, after a good wash up.“Why, I seem to be free, really free for the first time in my life--thepretty roads, the lovely flowers, the sweet singing birds--”
“And the needles?” suggested practical Frank.
“Oh, I sold them before noon,” said Markham, indifferently.
“All of them?”
“Fifteen packages to one little country store. Knocked a cent off myprofit, but time counts, you know.”
“I sent an order to the city for a gross of those false moustaches,”announced Frank.
“You did?” exclaimed Markham. “That’s famous! When will they be here?”
“Day after to-morrow, I think. Then I’m going down to Riverton tocollect some bills. I calculate it will take about three days to cleanup the lot. Mother, you must run the business here while I’m gone. Wewill have to stay at Riverton nights.”
“Shall I keep on with the needles?” asked Markham.
“Yes, but not here. We will make Riverton headquarters for this trip.You can come with me, and try the false moustaches on the community.”
“Some needles, too,” said Markham. “I’ll guarantee to sell a gross ofthe moustaches in two days.”
Markham did quite as well the second day as he had the first. It pleasedFrank to note how he seemed emerging from a worried-looking, distressedrefugee into a bright, laughing, happy boy. Mrs. Ismond had taken agreat liking to him, and he seemed never tired of helping Frank with hischores clear up to bed time.
The moustaches arrived the next afternoon. They had a merry evening,Markham applying moustache, goatee and false teeth to his face, andgiving character imitations thus disguised, which he had seen at someshow.
Frank hired a light wagon and horse for three days, and the next morninghe and Markham drove over to Riverton. They arranged for a cheaplodging, and separated. Frank had routed the bills he had to collectsystematically. The first batch took in a twenty miles circuit amongfarmers.
When evening came he had presented bills amounting to about two hundreddollars. As the horse walked slowly back the road to Riverton, Frankfigured out the day’s results.
“Pretty good,” he said, running over the paper slips in a package. “Ihave collected forty-four dollars and eighty cents--got twenty dollarsin sixty days’ notes, four promises to pay, four people call again,three parties moved away, and six bills no good.”
Frank drove leisurely down the principal street of Riverton, bound forthe livery stable where he had arranged to put up the horse during theirsojourn in town.
He halted with some curiosity and amusement at a corner where a crowdwas gathered. Mounted on a dry goods box, Markham was addressing a largeand jolly audience.
He was giving character sketches in a really entertaining way. Afterevery sally of laughter he would ply his wares. Everybody seemed buying.
“He’s a bright fellow and a first-class peddler,” Frank reflected, ashe continued on his way, unobserved by the friend he had started inbusiness.
“All sold out and the public hungry for more,” announced Markham, as hejoined Frank on agreement at a restaurant. “Those false teeth also. I’llbet fifty people asked for them. Say, it would pay to wire a quickduplicate order on the moustaches and a gross of the teeth. I cancertainly sell the outfit before we leave this town.”
“I’ll see if I can’t arrange it,” said Frank, and after supper he didso. Frank got track of a purchasing agent, who for a small commissionwent daily from Riverton to the city, bringing back with him what lightstuff he could carry in his two valises--all the baggage the railroadcompany would allow through free.
Just at dusk Saturday evening the two friends started cheerily homewards.Frank had made exactly thirty-eight dollars for his three days’ work.Markham’s profits amounted to a little over seventeen dollars.
“I want you to be my banker, Frank,” he said. “Haven’t I done quitewell? Next week I’ll cut a still wider swath.”
“Not peddling, Markham,” said Frank.
“Why not?” inquired Markham, in some surprise.
“Well, I’ll tell you. To-night about closes up what business I have inhand. You know all my hopes and plans tend towards starting a mail orderbusiness. We would soon exhaust this district, selling on a small scale.I want to reach a wider one. I have found out what takes with thepublic. Next week I am going to gather together what we have, and moveto another town.??
?
Markham’s face fell. He looked a trifle uneasy.
“Nearer the city?” he asked, in quite an anxious tone.
“No, nearly a hundred and fifty miles north of here. The fact is,Markham, I am going to move to Pleasantville. I have some rare, royalfriends there. Two of them, Darry and Bob Haven, are in the printingbusiness. They own and publish a weekly newspaper. They can help meimmensely. Then there is a mightier reason, too, for locating atPleasantville.”
“What’s that, Frank?” asked the interested Markham.
“A man named Dawes runs a novelty factory there--makes all kinds oflittle hardware specialties. It is just the place to manufacture myapple corer, if it is a success. If it is not, I can advertise the listhe already manufactures, and get up something else.”
“There’s a good deal of money in those little devices when a fellow getsup the right thing, I suppose?” asked Markham.
“Sure, anything new and handy goes great,” responded Frank. “I have readof a dozen little simple inventions that have made a great fortune forthe owners.”
Markham was studiously silent for a few minutes. Then he asked:
“Do they make things in wire at that Pleasantville factory--I mean, dothey have the material and machinery to make wire things?”
“If not, they can easily get them,” answered Frank. “Why do you ask,Markham?”
“Well,” said Markham, with a little conscious laugh, “the truth is, Ihave invented something myself.”