ped
to lift their thoughts off their trouble, and helped them through.
Some of the people they met stared wonderingly at the little pair of
market-gardeners in the gay green cart. Some smiled and nodded
encouragingly, others called out cheerily, "Hello, young market-gardeners,
you're getting on! That's good, stick to it, and you'll do yet!"

By this time the regular market-folk who arrived early in the day had come
to know the two children who were so regular and so punctual.

They both felt very pleased with the attention they received, but they
felt very self-conscious indeed when they drew up at the house by the
church, where their first customer, Mrs. Watson, lived, and even more so
when they went on to Mrs. Adamson, whose little invalid daughter Joan had
bought flowers of them every week since that first meeting.

Joan grew quite excited when she saw the donkey and cart, but when she
heard of the accident, and the trouble they were all in, she wept for
sympathy.

"Oh, mummy," she cried, "we must do something to help!" and Mrs. Adamson,
who had been listening intently to the tale of trouble, decided that one
of the best ways of helping would be by buying as much as she could of
what they brought in to sell each week. So of eggs and vegetables, fruit
and flowers, she laid in quite a store, and the children went on their way
in high spirits. Just before they left, Joan called her mother aside for
a whispered consultation.

"Mummy, darling, do let me send the poor man one of my bottles of
eau-de-Cologne. If his head aches, he will be so glad of it; shall I?"

"Certainly, darling, and when he is better we will send him some
magazines. Shall we?"

In a state of great delight Joan handed over the eau-de-Cologne to Bella.
"But we will have the cork drawn first, for he might be glad to use it at
once, and I'll leave the dear little corkscrew in. He'll like to have
that, won't he?"

"Oh yes, miss," said Bella gratefully; "he's never seen one like that
before. Thank you, miss, I'll tell him you sent it."

Then Joan had to be carried to the window to look at Rocket and the cart,
and see Tom and Bella start on again. "Do you think you will ever sell
all you've got there?" she asked, with wondering eyes.

"Yes, I think so. I hope so, miss. I've got a good many regular
customers now, and p'raps we shall get some more. We're going to try it
for a week or two, anyway, just to see."

Tom's courage was certai