"I don't mean Charlie; I mean Bill Martin, who runs the garage. It seems somebody said that the Martin who is with you is contemplating getting into the garage business, and Billy Martin thinks that the confusion of names will take a lot of business away from him." "Who on earth said a thing like that?" I laughed. "Oh, you know how these rumors get started. They start from nowhere and they carry on indefinitely. The best thing, of course, is to ignore anything like that." "Funny that the name should be just the same, isn't it? Especially when we--" He put a warning finger to his lips and then I remembered my promise not to mention to any one our coming deal in automobile accessories and gasoline. "I told Betty," I said. "That's all right; Betty has an excellent forgettery." Just as I was leaving he said, "I understand that your friend Stigler is contemplating getting out of his five-and-ten-cent business." I grinned. "Made it too hot for him, have I?" "I don't know about that," he said; "but I understand that Woolton's five-and-ten-cent store people are buying the place, and adding it to their chain. Well, good-by," and he turned abruptly and left me. When I walked back to the store I felt mighty uncomfortable--Woolton, the biggest five-and-ten-cent chain in the country, next door to me! I hadn't minded somehow, while it was Stigler, because he hadn't sufficient money to carry a big variety of stock as they did. Neither did he know anything about organization, or marketing methods, as the Woolton people did. As I neared my store I happened to notice Stigler and a short, thick-set man coming out of his five-and-ten-cent store. As they passed me Stigler said, "Howdy, Black," with an attempt at joviality. Stigler had been looking much older lately. He wore a worried look. When I passed his store I noticed two dapper young men busily writing. I made the guess that they were stock taking. I told Martin and Larsen about it. Larsen pooh-poohed the idea of being afraid of the competition. Martin felt differently, however. I expected the Woolton people would take over the store on the first of the month, and if so they would advertise big bargains the day before. They were sure to have crowds of people visiting them the first two or three days the store was opened, because they always offered as leaders some tremendous values. I mentioned this to Martin. "The thing we've got to do, Mr. Black, if I may say so," he said, "is to see if we can't get the jump on them in some way, and also trim our windows so as to profit by any one visiting their store." Jones, who was inclined, like Larsen, to deprecate the idea of fearing them, said, "I guess we needn't worry about them. We're educating the people to buy something better than five-and-ten-cent goods. Just keep up the educating stunt, Boss."