“Oh! You can pick a pretty pattern as well as anybody, and besides, if I don’t like your choice, I can exchange the napkins for others.” Willie hurried away and reached the store in no time. He had no difficulty in finding plenty of beautiful napkins, but the prices were appalling. The embroidered ones were simply out of his reach. To get even the plain ones of good size and best quality required most of his ten-dollar bill. He got the best bargain he could and hurried back to his employer. “There were plenty of fine embroidered napkins, Mr. King,” said Willie, “but ten dollars wouldn’t touch them. These are very fine napkins, but they are plain. Here’s your change.” Mr. King unwrapped the napkins, looked at the purchase slip, and then counted the change Willie had given him. He found it correct. “Here’s fifty cents for you, Willie,” he said, handing out a half dollar. “And I’m obliged to you.” Willie laid the half dollar on the desk. “I’ve been paid once for my time,” he said. “I cannot take the money. But I thank you.” Mr. King gave Willie a sharp look. He saw nothing but sincerity in the lad’s face. “Very well,” he remarked. “You are at least entitled to car fare. All our agents have their expenses paid when on duty.” And he handed a dime to Willie. “Thank you,” said Willie, as he pocketed the money. “Now we’ll see what sort of taste you have,” said Mr. King, as he spread the linen out on his desk. “Well,” he said, “that suits me first-rate and it would suit Frank. But whether it will suit Frank’s wife or not I don’t know. She might not like them because they are not fancy.” “I’m sorry I couldn’t get the embroidered ones,” said Willie. “They were almost double the price of the plain napkins. And the price of the plain ones was a fright.” “Yes, I knew they would come high. These are imported goods, and the duty is something like eighty or ninety per cent. _ad valorem._” “What does that mean?” inquired Willie. “Simply this. The import duty is eighty or ninety per cent. of the original value of the goods. If an article is worth ten dollars, say, and the import duty is eighty per cent., the importer would have to pay a tax of eighty per cent. of ten dollars, or eight dollars, to get the stuff in. So he would have to have eighteen dollars merely to cover the purchase price and the revenue tax.” “Whew!” whistled Willie. “Are import duties as high as that?”