Astonished, Johnson and his son drew closer. They searched Joe's face, and then the mayor timidly felt his pulse.
"Well, I'll be hanged!" Johnson ejaculated.
"La-anago Yergis never fails, my friend," Harvey explained. "By actual test, it conquers asteroid fever in from four to twenty-three minutes, depending on the severity of the attack. Luckily, we caught this one before it grew formidable."
The mayor's eyes became clouded mirrors of an inward conflict. "If you don't charge too much," he said warily, "I might think of buying some."
"We do not sell this unbelievable remedy," Harvey replied with dignity. "It sells itself."
"'Course, I'd expect a considerable reduction if I bought a whole case," said Johnson.
"That would be the smallest investment you could make, compared with the vast loss of time and strength the fever involves."
"How much?" asked the mayor unhappily.
"For you, since you have taken us in so hospitably, a mere five hundred buckos."
Johnson did not actually stagger back, but he gave the impression of doing so. "F-four hundred," he offered.