ollars for a picture! Why there ain't a soul in the world
that I care five dollars for!"

Peter Gruff left in a hurry. "Five dollars for one little picture!" he
muttered to himself. "And such a skimpy frame. Why it's not worth
fifty cents. Such prices! Such robbery!" The old man disappeared
into the depths of his musty shop muttering:

"Just because I went in to see what they were up to and ate a little
morsel of their lunch, they thought I was going to buy one of their
pictures for five dollars! --And me with my shop full of the finest
colored pictures, handpainted too!" And in his excitement he actually
dusted off the top of a table.

"That was a mean trick, Kit Patten, to scare the poor fellow like that.
How would you like it?" exclaimed Bob Evans with a serious face.

"Well I tried to be polite at first. I told him it was our busy day
and he didn't pay any attention. And he wouldn't move: just kept on
talking."

"You've broken his heart," exclaimed Phil dramatically. "His head is
bowed with grief."

"And it ought to be!" stormed Kit, her eyes snapping, her cheeks
scarlet. "He's wasted a full hour of my time."

The boys shouted with laughter. It was not often that they could
succeed in getting Kit nettled. She was so even-tempered that they had
almost given up teasing her. Bet, on the contrary was an easy prey,
for her temper flared up at a second's notice.

But just now she was cool and composed: "Oh come on, Kit don't be
silly. There's enough to do, goodness knows, without you staging a
temper fit."

"Guess you're right, Bet. I'll be good." Kit was all smiles in a
minute as she grabbed a dust mop to give the floor another cleaning
before the rug was put down.

"I'm tired out completely!" Bob cried suddenly and dropped into the
nearest chair.

"Bob Evans," screamed Joy. "There you've gone and ruined my chair.
And it took me a good hour to paint it!"

Bob jumped to his feet, "Oh I'm so sorry, Sis. I didn't see it!"

But even the provoked Joy could not keep from laughing as Bob turned
around. His trousers were streaked with paint.

"Oh turn around, Bob! Let's see you. You look like a winter sunset!"
shouted Phil.

"Let us have those pants to frame," Bet laughed.

"And say Bob, you could go outside and strut up and down the sidewalk
and be a walking advertisement for Shirley's Shop."

"Now you've broken my heart, too!" moaned Bob.

"Then take my advice and go over and weep