“Goodness!” said Mrs. Clyde, horrified. “How could one suppose—”
“By reading the label carefully,” interjected Dr. Strong. “Anything else?”
“Let me think. I’ve always considered Jayne’s Expectorant good for the children when they have a cold.”
“Tastes differ,” observed the druggist philosophically. “I wouldn’t consider opium good for my children inside or outside of any expectorant. Next!”
“But the names sound so innocent!” cried Mrs. Clyde. “I’m almost afraid to tell any more. But we always have Rexall Cholera Cure on hand.”
“Had much cholera in the house lately?” inquired the druggist, with an affectation of extreme interest.
“Of course it’s only for stomach-ache,” explained Mrs. Clyde. “It certainly does cure the pain.”
“Not cure,—drug it into unconsciousness,” amended Mr. Gormley. “The opium in it does that. Rather a heroic remedy, opium, for a little stomach-ache, don’t you think?”
“What have you got to say against Kohler’s One-Night Cough Cure that I always keep by me?” demanded Grandma Sharpless.
Mr. Gormley beamed on her in deprecatory good nature. “Who? Me? Gracious! I’ve got nothing to say against it worse than it says against itself, on its label. Morphine, chloroform, and hasheesh. What more is there to say?”