Gager had
doubtless considered all the circumstances of his day's work carefully,
and had determined that success would more probably attend him with this
than with any other line of action. He walked at once into the house, and
asked whether a young woman was not lodging there. The man of the house
was behind the bar, with his wife, and to him Gager whispered a few words.
The man stood dumb for a moment, and then his wife spoke. "What's up now?"
said she, "There's no young women here. We don't have no young women."
Then the man whispered a word to his wife, during which Gager stood among
the customers before the bar with an easy, unembarrassed air.
"Well, what's the odds?" said the wife. "There ain't anything wrong with
us."
"Never thought there was, ma'am," said Gager. "And there's nothing wrong
as I know of with the young woman." Then the husband and wife consulted
together, and Mr. Gager was asked to take a seat in a little parlour,
while the woman ran upstairs for half an instant. Gager looked about him
quickly, and took in at a glance the system of the construction of the
"Fiddle with One String." He did sit down in the little parlour, with the
door open, and remained there for perhaps a couple of minutes.
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