"Half a dollar? You don't mean to say that!"
"Not a cent less."
"Well, it will be expensive. There's my wife and two darters, and myself; and the galls never seed a con-sort."
"Well," said I, "as there are four of you, you may come in at a dollar and a half."
"How; a dollar and a harf! I will go and have a talk with the old woman, and hear what she says to it."
He returned to the sleigh, and after chatting for a few minutes with the women, he helped them out, and the four followed me into the common reception room of the inn. The farmer placed a pail of butter on the table, and said with a shrewd curl of his long nose, and a wink from one of his cunning black eyes, "There's some pretty good butter, mister."
I was amused at the idea, and replied, "Pretty good butter! What is that to me? I do not buy butter."
"Not buy butter! Why you don't say! It is the very best article in the market jist now."
For a bit of fun I said,--"Never mind; I will take your butter. What is it worth?"
"It was worth ten cents last week, mister; I don't know what it's worth now. It can't have fallen, no-how."