lling? And between a dollar and a twenty-eight piece? Look----"

Mr. Motto pulled out the cash-drawer and seemed to be hunting for a
dollar; but for some reason or other he decided to make out with a
sesthalf. This he laid on the counter and asked Walter to imagine a
shilling lying beside it. He then proceeded to test Walter's knowledge
of business by asking him to point out the differences between the
two coins. Mr. Motto claimed that in business one must know these
details thoroughly.

And Mr. Motto was right about it. At that time there were more
different kinds of money in the Netherlands than there are in Germany
now. To be able to distinguish the various coins readily and make
change accurately a regular course of study was necessary. Just
as a law was about to be passed to confer the title, "Doctor of
Numismatics," on examination, the secretary of the treasury discovered
that all this trouble could be spared by simplifying the money. He
became very unpopular after this.

In Walter's time, though, such a reform had not been thought of. The
florin had twenty stivers; the regular Holland dollar had fifty
stivers, the Zeeland dollar had forty-two. The dollar was worth a
florin and a half, and the gold florin was called a "twenty-eight,"
because it contained twenty-eight stivers. The coins were well-worn and
seldom exhibited any traces of inscriptions, milling, etc. Matters were
further complicated by three-florin pieces and ducats of sixty-three
stivers, not to mention any other coins.

For Walter the money question was a serious one.

"And you don't know French, either?" in a tone that was scarcely
encouraging.

"No----" mournfully.

"And would your parents put up cash security for you?"

Walter didn't understand the question.

"Caution. Don't you understand? Security! There's lots of money
handled, and I must know who I'm turning the shop over to. And--do
you know Danish?"

Mr. Motto did not always speak grammatically.

"No--M'neer."

"What! Nor Danish, either? But Danish sailors come in here to buy
tobacco, and then you need to speak Danish. In a business like this
here you must know all languages. That's the main thing--otherwise
your cake's dough! I've even had Greeks to come in here."

Walter's heart gave a jump. What heroic deeds might they not do on
such occasions!

"Yes, Greeks; but they were drunk and wanted a smoke for nothing. We
don't do it that way. The main thing is to look out for t