“I tell you I won’t have you! Get out of my office. Will you take
‘no’ for an answer?”
“No, I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Never did in my life, and don’t
intend starting now,” said the young man, very determinedly.
Mr. Sharp hesitated, then rose to his feet, with admiration beaming
from his eyes.
“Young man,” he said, “I’ve been looking for an agent like you for
twenty years. At first I thought you were only a bumptious fool;
but now I see you’re literally bursting with business. If any man
can sell my patent vermin-trap (warranted to catch anything from a
flea to a tiger) you’re that man. A hundred a year and 15 per cent.
commission. Is it a bargain?”
“It is,” said the young man, trying the trap, and smiling approvingly
when it nipped a piece of flesh clean out of his finger.