“Well, I s’pose you and I are the men of this family,” said Cornelius, over his log, “and so if you’ll just say how the money’s coming to begin with, why, I’ll give you my word, I’ll keep at it.” “We want Rosalie,” said Jack, kindly; “we can’t do anything without her.” “Why, she’s nothing but a girl,” said Cornelius, still pummeling; “it takes men to keep store and make money.” “But there are ever so many things that a girl can do to help us,” said Jack, “so we must take her into partnership.” “O Jack! how very fine and exquisite,” cried Rosalie, grasping his arm with excited little fingers. “I’ll wait on customers, and make change all alone, and help you fix up things and look nice.” “She uses such terribly big words,” said Cornelius, in disfavor at the scheme, “and puts on airs, just like all the other girls. Jack, we can’t let her in; it’s no use to try.” “Now, Corny,” cried Rosalie, slipping from her bench and standing quite tall. “I’m very big—nearly ten; and I know a great many things, and Jack says I may—so there.” “Yes, she really ought,” said Jack, with a nod over at the smaller boy, “because you see it’s a family concern. We must make it Brimmer Brothers and Company.” “Am I Company?” asked Rosalie, in subdued excitement. “Yes,” said Jack. “Well, now I’ll tell you how we can make the money to buy the things that we are to sell. To begin with, Rosalie?” “I?” cried the Company, with widened eyes. “Yes,” Jack nodded at her very decidedly. “You can take care of Mrs. Prouty’s baby.” “O Jack!” It was a tone of horror that came from the girl of the family, “you don’t ever mean that?” “If we are really going to earn money to help mammy with, we must expect to do some disagreeable work,” said Jack gravely. Rosalie hid her ashamed little face a moment, then said, “Very well, I’ll do it. But how do you know she wants me?” “I heard her tell the cook when I carried the lettuce there this morning that she’d give fifty cents to any girl who would take care of the baby a week—just come in every day. Her cousin is going there to-morrow to visit, and she wants her time to herself. Just think, Rosalie, fifty bright new cents!” The Company fairly clapped her hands. “Perhaps she’ll let me bring the baby over home, then I sha’n’t be away from Primrose.” “She’d be only too glad to get him out of the way, I’ll be bound,” said Jack; “I sh’d be, if I owned that baby.” “And Primrose is so sweet that any other baby would smile and be good, even if it was a great fat, big, crying, red-faced one like Mrs. Prouty’s,” said Rosalie, seeing some alleviation to her task of earning fifty cents. “Now what is Corny going to do?” she demanded, trying not to hope that his work was disagreeable also. “Corny and I have to work together,” said Jack, with a little grimace he couldn’t help. “It’s to clean up Widow Brown’s pig-pen.”