"I would rather not."
"Well, here is my circular, containing accounts of remarkable cures performed. Permit me to present you a box."
"Thank you," said Harry, dubiously.
"You'll probably be sick before long," said the doctor, cheerfully, "and then the pills will come handy."
"Doctor," said Ferguson, gravely, "I find my hair getting thin on top of the head. Do you think the panacea would restore it?"
"Yes," said the doctor, unexpectedly. "I had a case, in Portsmouth, of a gentleman whose head was as smooth as a billiard-ball. He took the pills for another complaint, and was surprised, in the course of three weeks, to find young hair sprouting all over the bald spot. Can't I sell you half-a-dozen boxes? You may have half a dozen for two dollars and a half."
Ferguson, who of course had been in jest, found it hard to forbear laughing, especially when Harry joined the doctor in urging him to purchase.
"Not to-day," he answered. "I can try Mr. Walton's box, and if it helps me I can order some more."
"You may not be able to get it, then," said the doctor, persuasively.
"I may not be in Centreville."
"If the panacea is well known, I can surely get it without difficulty."