ly, whose L200
was behaving, it appeared, very like the widow's cruse.

This belief, however, received a blow when they went without Mr. Twist,
who was too busy now for any extra expeditions, to choose and buy
chintzes, and it was finally shattered when the various middle-aged
ladies who responded to Mr. Twist's cry for help in the advertising
columns of the Acapulco and Los Angeles press one and all demanded as
salary more than the whole Twinkler capital.

The twins had a bad moment of chill fear and misgiving, and then once
more were saved by an inspiration,--this time Anna-Rose's.

"I know," she exclaimed, her face clearing. "We'll make it
Co-operative."

Mr. Twist, whose brow too had been puckered in the effort to think out a
way of persuading the twins to let him help them openly with his money,
for in spite of his going to be their guardian they remained difficult
on this point, jumped at the idea. He couldn't, of course, tell what in
Anna-Rose's mind the word co-operative stood for, but felt confident
that whatever it stood for he could manipulate it into covering his
difficulties.

"What is co-operative?" asked Anna-Felicitas, with a new respect for a
sister who could suddenly produce a business word like that and seem to
know all about it. She had heard the word herself, but it sat very
loosely in her head, at no point touching anything else.

"Haven't you heard of Co-operative Stores?" inquired Anna-Rose.

"Yes but--"

"Well, then."

"Yes, but what would a co-operative inn be?" persisted Anna-Felicitas.

"One run on co-operative lines, of course," said Anna-Rose grandly.
"Everybody pays for everything, so that nobody particular pays for
anything."

"Oh," said Anna-Felicitas.

"I mean," said Anna-Rose, who felt herself that this might be clearer,
"it's when you pay the servants and the rent and the cakes and things
out of what you get."

"Oh," said Anna-Felicitas. "And will they wait quite quietly till we've
got it?"

"Of course, if we're all co-operative."

"I see," said Anna-Felicitas, who saw as little as before, but knew of
old that Anna-Rose grew irascible when pressed.

"See here now," said Mr. Twist weightily, "if that isn't an idea. Only
you've got hold of the wrong word. The word you want is profit-sharing.
And as this undertaking is going to be a big success there will be big
profits, and any amount of cakes and salaries will be paid for as glibly
and easily as you can say your A