It must not be supposed that the pedler neglected his business on account of his companion.  On the road he had been traveling the houses were few and far between.  He had, therefore, but few calls to make.  Paul remarked, however, that when he did call he seldom failed to sell something.

“Yes,” said Mr. Stubbs, on being interrogated, “I make it a p’int to sell something, if it’s no more than a tin dipper.  I find some hard cases sometimes, and sometimes I have to give it up altogether.  I can’t quite come up to a friend of mine, Daniel Watson, who used to be in the same line of business.  I never knew him to stop at a place without selling something.  He had a good deal of judgment, Daniel had, and knew just when to use ‘soft sodder,’ and when not to.  On the road that he traveled there lived a widow woman, who had the reputation of being as ugly, cross-grained a critter as ever lived.  People used to say that it was enough to turn milk sour for her even to look at it.  Well, it so happened that Daniel had never called there.  One night he was boasting that he never called at a house without driving a bargain, when one of the company asked him, with a laugh, if he had ever sold the widow anything.

“Why, no,” said Daniel, “I never called there; but I’ve no doubt I could.”

“What’ll you bet of it?”

“I’m not a betting man,” said Daniel, “but I feel so sure of it that I don’t mind risking five dollars.”

“Agreed.”

“The next morning Daniel drove leisurely up to the widow’s door and knocked.  She had a great aversion to pedlers, and declared they were cheats, every one of them.  She was busy sweeping when Daniel knocked.  She came to the door in a dreadful hurry, hoping it might be an old widower in the neighborhood that she was trying to catch.  When she saw how much she was mistaken she looked as black as a thundercloud.

“Want any tin ware to-day, ma’am?” inquired Daniel, noways discomposed.

“No, sir,” snapped she.

“Got all kinds,—­warranted the best in the market.  Couldn’t I sell you something?”

“Not a single thing,” said she, preparing to shut the door; but Daniel, knowing all would then be lost, stepped in before she could shut it quite to, and began to name over some of the articles he had in his wagon.

“You may talk till doomsday,” said the widow, as mad as could be, “and it won’t do a particle of good.  Now, you’ve got your answer, and you’d better leave the house before you are driven out.”

“Brooms, brushes, lamps——­”

“Here the widow, who had been trying to keep in her anger, couldn’t hold out any longer.  She seized the broom she had been sweeping with, and brought it down with a tremendous whack upon Daniel’s back.  You can imagine how hard it was, when I tell you that the force of the blow snapped the broom in the middle.  You might have thought Daniel would resent it, but he didn’t appear to notice it, though it must have hurt him awful.  He picked up the pieces, and handing them, with a polite bow, to the widow, said, ’Now, ma’am, I’m sure you need a new broom.  I’ve got some capital ones out in the cart.’”