said Matt, and with a wink to Andrew Dilks, he
pulled his companion toward the stable doors.

"Hold up!" shouted the baker, in alarm. "Don't go yet, chentlemen.
Make dot figure two hundred and twenty-five, and it vos more as tog
cheap at dot."

"Perhaps it is, but we can't afford to pay it."

"If I could haf der dime to sell, I vos got more as dot, chentlemen."

"Perhaps so," returned Matt. "But you haven't got to accept our offer,
you know. We'll look around for something cheaper."

"You vill bay cash on der spot?"

"Yes; but you must give us a free and clear bill of sale."

"I vos do dot. Make it chust two hundred dollar."

But Andrew Dilks had set his mind on getting a further reduction, and
at last the bargain was settled, and they paid over a hundred and
ninety dollars for the turnout, leaving them still ten dollars to
expend upon rubber blankets and other necessary articles.

The purchase completed, they made arrangements with the boarding-stable
keeper to keep the horse and wagon for them until the following
Monday morning. In the meantime they procured some paint, and painted
over the baker's signs on the wagon, and then Andrew, who was a fair
letterer, painted on each side of the wagon-cover the following:

THE EUREKA AUCTION COMPANY.
Best and Cheapest Goods on Earth.

"There, that ought to attract attention wherever we go," said Andrew
when the job was finished. "The word company makes it sound big, and
we can call ourselves a company as well as not."

On Friday and Saturday the two made a tour of the wholesale houses in
New York, and Andrew expended the fifty dollars as judiciously as
possible in the purchase of goods. As business was rather slow, and
ready money scarce, he struck several decided bargains, especially in
cutlery and musical instruments. He had all of the goods sent up to
the stable, and the two worked until ten o'clock Saturday night
stowing away all of the stock in their wagon.

"Now, we are all ready for the start on Monday morning," said Andrew
as the two walked away from the stable.

"Yes, but we haven't decided where we shall go first yet," returned
Matt.

"Let us leave that until the last minute. We know about where we are
going, and it doesn't make much difference what villages we strike so
long as we do the business."

Sunday passed quickly enough for Matt. He attended church and the
Sunday-school into which Ida Bartlett had introduced him, and in the
evening