CHAPTER XIV 



UNFAIR COMPETITION 



One day as I was returning from a visit to a 

 neighboring town my partner, Dr. Asa, met me 

 at the depot. He appeared considerably wrought 

 up about something and the way he welcomed me 

 back would have given one the impression that I 

 had been away for several months instead of a 

 day. 



"Gee whiskers, Doc," he says, "glad you came 

 back so quick; there is big competition in town! 

 A guy blowed in this morning and he is throwing 

 bills around which says he is here to stay. We 

 got to get busy an' scare him out." In our walk 

 from the depot to the office, I got a look at the 

 "big competition," and the description suited him 

 all right. He was one of the biggest men I have 

 ever seen, and if size made competition, he was 

 the whole thing, without question. I tried to 

 calm Dr. Asa's fears by various remarks about 

 size from all unfavorable points of view but he 

 would not be calmed; he said he was somewhat 

 acquainted with the big fellow and knew him to 

 be the most unscrupulous competitor imaginable. 

 Later I found this to be true, and in all my 

 travels I met only one quack who was this big 

 fellow's equal in all the tricks of quackery. On 

 this occasion he began his campaign with an 

 indirect personal attack on Dr. Asa by passing 

 out cards which read: 



103 



