“Peter wants to quit us and push on to Cheyenne, and while I am perfectly competent to put up the orders, I dislike to do so. Why work, when I can profit from the labour of others? And that is where you come in. I’ll get the orders and pay you so much for each sign that you put up. In fact, I’ll even do better. If you are able to pick up an order here and there, I’ll sell you the supplies for ten per cent above cost to me. The work is easy. Any mechanical man with a true eye can manage with a little instruction and a day or two of experience.” “Oh, yes,” young Bates broke in, “I’ve always been a clerk, but I had no difficulty in getting the hang of this thing. I wanted to go to Cheyenne, and this gave me a fine chance to see the country and make a little dough on the side.” “A man with your experience and training should have no trouble at all in making two or three dollars a day,” the boss continued. “And it should be mostly velvet. Honey-drips has a little side line of her own. She carries a few toilet accessories to sell to the ladies. In the country districts the housewives are only too glad to have an opportunity to get such things in exchange for butter, eggs, poultry, vegetables, or even bread and canned fruit. We can always use the stuff some way and it cuts the living expenses to almost nothing. I get horse feed in exchange for tools and lamps, and often I can let the animals graze for a day at a time. Now your wife can get a supply of these female fixings for ten per cent above cost and make most of your living. After you have played the game for a month or two and find you like it, I’ll fix up that second wagon like this one here. We use it now for trips off the main line where we don’t want to take the heavy outfit. “That’s the gist of the plan. Now, how does the scheme strike you?” “I’d be glad enough to get a couple of dollars a day over our living,” replied Dan. “What do you think about it, Ethel?” “I believe it would be an excellent thing for the present, at least. Of course, I won’t be satisfied till we get back to California, but we should be able to save money enough to make the trip comfortably in a few months if we manage carefully.” “Well, so far as getting to California is concerned,” observed Mr. Adams, “we expect to arrive there about the middle of next December. We will work the territory between here and Cheyenne, then swing down across Colorado, pass through Arizona in November, and work California in the winter months. Then if you have not come to love this life, as I think you will, you can leave us and return to the old grubby existence.” “Now, that will be splendid,” I cried enthusiastically. “We’ll not only reach home, but we’ll see the country and save some money for a fresh start—we’ll need all we can save before we get on our feet again, I’m afraid.”