way, and thus the bushes
and stalks were helped to stand up straighter. Some straightened up of
themselves when they had dried in the sun.

"Well, I think we are going to have some good crops," said Daddy Blake
when he went to the garden with Hal and Mab a few days after the storm.
"In fact we are going to have more of some things than we can use."

"Will we have to throw them away?" asked Hal.

"No indeed!" laughed his father. "That would be wrong at a time when we
must save all the food we can. But we will do as the farmer does who
raises a large crop of anything. We will start a little store and sell
what we do not need."

"A REAL store?" cried Mab, with shining eyes.

"And sell things for REAL money?" asked Hal.

"Of course!" laughed their father, "though you may give your friends
anything from your garden that you wish to."

"Where will we keep the store?" asked Hal. "And who will we sell the
things to?"

"And what will we sell?" asked Mab. "What have we too much of, Daddy?"

"My! You children certainly can ask questions!" exclaimed Mr. Blake.

"Now let me see! In the first place I think if you keep the store out on
the front lawn, near the street, it will be the best place, I'll put an
old door across two boxes and that will be your store counter. And you can
sell things to persons that pass along the street. Some in automobiles may
stop and buy, and others, on their way to the big stores, may stop to get
your vegetables because they will be so fresh. The fresher a vegetable is
the better. That is it should be eaten as soon as possible after it is
taken from the garden, else it loses much of its flavor."

"But will people give us real money for our garden truck?" asked Hal. He
had heard his father and Uncle Pennywait speak of garden "truck" so he
knew it must be the right word.

"Indeed they'll be glad to pay you real money," said Mr. Blake with a
smile. "Persons who have no garden of their own are very glad to buy fresh
vegetables. You'll soon see."

"But what are we going to sell?" asked Mab.

"Oh, yes, I forgot your question," said her father. "Well, there are more
tomatoes than your mother has time to can, or make into ketchup just now.
She will have plenty more later on. And I think there will be more of your
beans, Mab, than you will care to keep over Winter, or use green. So you
can sell some of my tomatoes and some of your beans."

"My corn isn't ripe yet," said Hal. "The ears are awful li