Larsen suggested having a big sign in the window headed: "WATCH THIS LIST. ARTICLES SOLD OUT WILL BE POSTED ON IT." "You see, Boss," he had said, "the folks'll see a number of things put on the list. They'll figure they'd better not wait else what they want will be sold." Fellows chimed in with, "Tell you what to do, Black. Put in just two or three of some articles, so that by the end of the first day you'll be able to post up some goods that are sold out." Jock had a further suggestion, "Ye've got an unusual plan there, laddie; why don't ye tell the newspapers aboot it. Maybe they'll give ye a stor-ry in reference to it." "That's a good idea," I had replied, "I'll try it." "Don't ye think," he continued, "that it would pay ye tae put a list in the papers each day o' the goods that are sold, and call it 'Too late to buy the following at Dawson Black's Automatic Sales--Some one else got ahead o' ye',' or-r something like that?" I decided to adopt that plan and that I would call on the newspaper people to see if I could not get a write-up on the sale from them. I really was getting anxious for the sale to start so that I could see how it would come off. I felt that I was taking a big risk, since, if it failed, I would lose a few hundred dollars. But, even then, I would turn some dead stock into cash, and I remembered that, at the trade convention, one fellow had said a dollar in the till was worth two dollars of unsalable goods on the shelves, "for," said he, "if you turn that two dollars' worth of goods into a dollar cash and you turn that dollar over three and a half times in a year, you are going to earn a profit on three and a half dollars' worth of live stuff instead of the questionable profit on two dollars' worth of dead stuff!" I guess we are all gamblers at heart, for every one, even the Mater, had become interested and excited over my first attempt at a big sale. I hadn't quite decided whether to send the circulars by mail, or to have them delivered to every home in town by messenger; but was inclined to adopt the latter plan. Fellows suggested, "Why don't you get some pretty girls to go around and deliver them? They would make a hit!" "Do you think so?" flashed back Betty. "That's just where you're mistaken, Mr. Smarty--if you think a woman is going to be tickled to have a pretty girl come up to the door: send a homely one and it might work!" Aren't women queer? CHAPTER XVIII THE GREAT SALE I would like to be able to say that there were big sales on the first day of the automatic sale. All the goods on those four sales' counters had been reduced one cent in ten--ten-cent articles to nine cents, and so on--but, on the first day, we took in only $36.00 from those counters!