“I shall instantly create a demand for your jelly, my dear, if I am always to get a commission like this,” the Doctor laughingly remarked, delighted at the success of his venture.
“Are you serious, Dr. Ware? Do you suppose I could make jelly to sell?” she asked, anxiously.
“Why not, Hester?”
The girl was silent for a moment then suddenly she cried, “Julie Dale, we’ll cook for a living!”
“Cook!” repeated Julie, incredulously, “I don’t know a thing about cooking.”
“No, but I do. Don’t you know how Cousin Nancy was always fussing because I would haunt the kitchen down there? I learned how to make jelly from her old colored mammie, and heaps of things beside. Of course, I never actually put my hand into anything—old Rachel wouldn’t let me, but I saw how she did lots of things, and her cakes were famous all through the County, you know they were. If we can sell wine jelly we ought to be able to sell other things, don’t you think so, Dr. Ware?”
“I do indeed, my dear; I think your idea is excellent.”
“Hester, I will learn, I am sure I can,” cried Julie hurriedly. “I’m aching to get my fingers into something.”
“Of course you’ll learn—we’ll both have to learn as we go along, and even if we don’t succeed it’s worth trying.”
“As for that,” said the Doctor, “anything you may attempt will be more or less in the nature of an experiment.”