"Why waste our money on a shopman at all?" propounded Mr Stratton to his astounded fellow-directors. "Why not take turns behind the counter ourselves; say one of the Wheatfields and Cash one week, and Cottle and Ashby the next, and so on? The hours proposed were not school hours; and though the persons on duty might occasionally be done out of a game, still it would fall on all alike, and would be a little sacrifice for the common good." "But," said Percy, whose hair was on end at this tremendous proposition, "suppose Wally--that is, I mean, wouldn't it be necessary to count the tarts before each chap went on duty and see how many there were at the end?" "It might with you and your lot," retorted Wally, very red in the face. "It'd be best to have a weighing machine handy and charge you 8 pence a pound for every pound extra you weighed at the end of the day!" "We'll neither count nor weigh," said Mr Stratton; "we'll trust to every fellow's honour. Why, if we couldn't do that, do you suppose the shop would keep open a week?" This impressed the meeting vastly, and the discussion was changed to the question of profits. The boys were in favour of screwing all they could out of their customers. They didn't see why, if Bob sold bad tarts for three- halfpence, they shouldn't sell good ones at least for the same price. "It's giving it to 'em both ends," said they. "Why not?" said the master. "We want the fellows to get the benefit. We don't want all the profit. As it is, we shall make a farthing on every tart we sell. We ought to sell four times as many as Bob did, oughtn't we?" "Quite that," said they. "Very well; see how that works out." And Mr Stratton took his chalk and worked out this sum on the black- board:-- 12 bad tarts at 1½ pence = 1 shilling, 6 pence, cost 9 pence, profit 9 pence. 48 good tarts at 1 penny = 4 shillings, cost 3 shillings, profit 1 shilling. "You see," said he, "if we can only increase the demand, we shall easily make Bob's profit, and more. Having good tarts will increase it in one way, and selling cheap will increase it another. It's worth trying, anyhow." And so the deliberations went on, and the boys' minds gradually took on the new idea.