I fear, neighbour Littlefaith," said Plausible, "thou art in the right,
and let me tell thee that same scrip of thine is little in favour here;
howbeit, for the sake of old acquaintance, I would not have thee return
empty--I will buy thy wares of thee. Thou canst not expect of me much
profit, but here are twenty crowns, which will defray thy travelling
charges--and leave thee a something over beside. Mayhap I may be able
some time or other to find a purchaser. There is the money. Give me the
scrip quickly; for I see a certain friend of mine, Mr By-ends, who
beckoneth to me, and cannot wait."

Then did Littlefaith take the crowns, and give unto Plausible the scrip,
which when he had put into his bosom, he smiled and hastened away. When
Littlefaith came back to Stagman, he told him what he had done.

"Thou faint-hearted fool!" said Stagman, "knowest thou not thy wares
were well worth a hundred crowns, which, I warrant thee, Plausible will
make of them before the market is over. Out upon thee for a crazed
coxcomb! get thee gone, and trouble us no more in this matter."

"Better is a bird in the hand than two in the bush," said Littlefaith;
and so saying, he departed.

But while Stagman was thus gibing Littlefaith for throwing away his
wares, suddenly Scapegrace uttered a cry, and said--

"Mercy on us, what hath become of Mr Premium! I only turned my head for
a moment to look at yonder Prospectus of the Grand Equatorial and
Tropical Junction, and, lo! he slips his arm from mine, and I saw him no
more."

"Oh, woe is me!" cried Stagman; "what I foretold has come to pass, and
now I fear a worse thing will yet befall us."

And, as he spake, behold there drew near a lean and ill-favoured person,
clad in ragged and sad-coloured attire, whose doublet was much out at
the elbows, and who looked ever towards the ground; and no sooner did
Stagman see him drawing nigh, than he threw his scrip on the ground,
and, hurrying through the crowd, he was seen no more. Then I knew that
the man's name was DISCOUNT.

And when the men of the Fair saw that Premium was gone, and that Stagman
had fled as Discount drew nigh, they seized upon Scapegrace, and began
to flout him, at first with fair words and pretences, but at last more
rudely and openly. "So, friend!" cried one, "you will buy nothing of us,
it seems? Mayhap you have something to sell."

"I have in my scrip a few Eldorados, for which I expected a premium,"
answered Scapegrace.