Josie smiled at this quaint speech. She was sorry for poor Ingua, whose stalwart belief in the Cragg honesty was doomed to utter annihilation when her grandsire was proved to have defrauded the Government by making counterfeit money. But this was no time to undeceive the child, so she said:
"The other bit of news is that Sol Jerrems has traded the bill which he thought was bad for good money, so you can buy your things any time you please."
"Then it wasn't counterfeit?"
"I saw it myself. I've lived in the city so long that no one can fool me with counterfeit money. I can tell it in two looks, Ingua. So I'd rather have a nice new bill than ten clumsy silver dollars and I made the trade myself."
"Where'd ye get so much money, Josie?"
"My wages. I don't do much work, but I get paid regularly once a week."
She didn't explain that her father made her a weekly allowance, but Ingua was satisfied.
"What do you think I orter buy with that money, Josie? I need so many things that it's hard to tell where to begin and where to leave off."
"Let's make a list, then, and figure it out."
This occupied them some time and proved a very fascinating occupation to the poor girl, who had never before had so much money to spend at one time.