fellow must have known what he was talking about,
for when he took hold of me the fourth round, one would have thought he
was about to decide a bet of thousands of dollars.

I took in the situation at once, and the thought uppermost in my mind
was to try to save my neck, regardless of the five dollars.

I was not mistaken when I thought I saw "blood in his eye," for sure
enough he proved himself a terror, and in less time than any previous
round he again had my heels in the air and landed me on my back the
third time.

I acknowledged myself vanquished, and after paying him the fifty-five
dollars, we exchanged horses and separated on the best of terms.

A few moments later, after my wife and I had started on with our new
horse, I asked her how she liked traveling. She laughed heartily at the
absurdity of our plan for deciding the trade, and replied that with the
recreation, excitement and change of climate, she thought that I would
improve in health whether she did or not.

I soon discovered that my scheme of traveling by team was going to be
just the thing to help me sell off the large surplus of goods which I
still had on hand. I had always done the bulk of my business with
general-store merchants.

On this trip we learned that there was a general stagnation in trade,
and especially with this class of goods; and to undertake to push more
jewelry on those who then had more than they needed and more than they
could pay for, would be foolish and unbusiness-like. I also found that
my agent who had been traveling through that section, had sold to
anybody and everybody, regardless of credit-standing, or responsibility.

I quickly decided to adopt a new system of operation.

On referring to my map and commercial book I found any number of what
are termed Cross-Road stores,--that is, merchants residing and doing
business off the railroads, and in very small towns where traveling
agents were not likely to stop. I could find any number of these right
on the lines of roads where my agents had been traveling, and where I
had considerable money due me, which I was anxious to collect.

I began at once by calling on this class of trade. Business was
exceedingly dull with all of them, and as I hardly ever found a single
one who had experimented with the sale of jewelry, I found but little
difficulty in convincing the majority that the only thing they lacked to
boom their trade was a stock of my goods. At any rate, I found my