Nevertheless, there were other lines to work, and I tried them all, with the idea that one thing was as good as another, and perhaps I might find something a little better. When I discovered that street selling seemed to be telling on my throat I got back to canvassing again. [Illustration] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHAPTER XV. SELLING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS—TRICKERY AND DECEPTION—LOOKING FOR SOMETHING NEW—SELLING THE ROASTER—THE CANVASS. I got to selling pianos and organs by the merest chance. I was canvassing with a furniture polish, which was really a very good thing, and one day went into a store where musical instruments were sold, hoping to do a stroke of business. I did, and a very good stroke of business I made of it. The dealer had some talk with me, apparently liked my style, and finally offered me very good terms to work for him a scheme he had in view. He thought I knew enough about the instrument to handle pianos successfully in the way he proposed. He had several Beatem pianos, which were listed at a high figure, but which he had obtained at a large discount. So far, he had been unable to sell them, and as he was well known he did not care to manage the fake he thought of suggesting to me. He offered to fix me up in style, and pay my expenses and big wages, if I would go to a city not far away, representing myself as from Beatem and attend to the disposing of a piano through the Woman’s charity organization of the town. I jumped at the chance, and went to Tirbyville, splendidly dressed and in every way well equipped for the scheme. When the piano had come I called upon the president of the society and made known the fact that I was representing the Beatem Piano Company of New York; that their pianos were of the finest kind, and that the firm had adopted a new way of introducing them. Instead of paying big money to the newspaper men, I had instructions to give the benefit of all the profits to some charitable association; in fact, I was in town for the purpose of giving away some of them now. The instrument was here, on exhibition and trial, and what we wanted to do was to call attention to it. At the same time, of course, we were more than gratified at the chance of doing a little good. I wanted to advertise the pianos, not to sell them; and in order to hurry the affair through as quickly as possible, I was going to offer special inducements to those taking an interest in the matter.