THE KLEIISTMANS 99 



and a half per week for board, furnish his own ammuni- 

 tion, and enjoy the proceeds of the sale of the ducks 

 that he killed. It was a proud day for John when he 

 returned home with nine dollars in his inside pocket, the 

 proceeds of his first sale. He was ambitious, and was 

 desirous of becoming a rich man, w^as willing to work 

 and was very careful of his earnings. 



The gun furnished by his father was not up to John's 

 idea of what such an implement should be. He confided 

 Ms trouble to George T. Abby, proprietor of a gun store 

 on Lake street, from whom he had purchased ammuni- 

 tion. John was surprised to learn that his credit was 

 good for anything that was in the store. Before he left 

 the store he was the proud possessor of a thirty-dollar 

 gun with stub-and-twist barrels, an immense quantity of 

 ammunition, and all of the necessary accoutcrments 

 that went to make up a first-class outfit in those days. 

 His greatest trouble now was the unpaid bill of sixty- 

 five dollars that constantly presented itself before his 

 eyes, but he was not long in squaring the account. 



As John was six feet one without socks, a regular 

 Apollo Belvidere, and had an eye for the beautiful, he 

 was of the opinion that he ciould not make t hit with the -y' 

 fair sex unless he was properly clothed. Hying himself ; 

 to a nearby clothing store he blew in eleven dollars for 

 ;a suit of black. A white shirt in the window mth a 

 Marie Antoinette frill attracted his attention verj^ much. 



