company--jolly glad to entertain you. Here's peaches, here's cake.
Have a glass of milk?"

The old man bustled around and seemed so anxious to dispel the
unpleasant impression he had made at first that Molly and Midge
met him halfway, and beamed happily as they accepted the pleasant
refreshments he set out.

"Fall to, fall to," he said, rubbing his big hands together, as he
watched the children do justice to the feast.

The girls suddenly discovered that they were both tired and
hungry, and the old gentleman's hospitality put them in a much
pleasanter frame of mind.

"Now, what's all this about pineapple extract?" he inquired. "I
didn't half get the hang of it, and I was only joking you when you
all seemed to get scared to death."

So Marjorie told him the whole story from the beginning and asked
his opinion as to the wisdom of the plan.

The old man's eyes twinkled. "I've nothing to say about that," he
replied, "but I'll tell you what I'll do: I'll buy your whole
stock of pennyroyal tea,--or whatever it is,--and I'll pay you ten
dollars for the lot. It isn't a question of what the stuff is
worth in itself, but a question of its value to me; and I'll rate
that at ten dollars, and here's your money. You can spend it
yourselves, or give it to your poor people, whichever you like."