"I had been on the job about a week when I came one night to a
desolate-looking little shack on a high mountainside. It did not look
inviting, but I had to have shelter for the night, so I stepped to the
door and knocked. A rather comely looking woman replied to my summons.
"'I'm a peddler,' I explained, 'could I get something to eat and a room
here for the night?'
"She looked at me twice before answering.
"'What you tradin' in?' she asked, with a trace of suspicion.
"I judged from her manner that there was an illicit still in the
neighborhood and that was what made her so suspicious.
"'Oh, laces, ribbons and so forth,' I replied.
"I showed her some samples.
"I'll give you breakfast, supper and a bed fer that bit of red ribbon,'
she said.
"'I'll throw in this bit of blue,' said I gallantly.
"And so the bargain was struck. It was a small place, but neat and tidy.
Two children were playing about and in a corner sat a man trying to read
a month-old newspaper.
"Pop, this feller traded in these bits of ribbon fer bed and two meals,'
she said, proudly exhibiting her goods and evidently thinking she had
made an excellent bargain.
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