You know we must be wise as serpents and gentle as doves I deciding, and"-- he laid his hand on her arm--"though I doubt not all will be well, I must think over the matter a while.

Welcome, brother," he added, offering his hand to Eliph' Hewlitt.
The little book agent shook it warmly.
"'I was a stranger and ye took me in,'" he said glibly.

"Fine weather for a picnic." His eyes glowed.

To meet the minister first of all! This was good, indeed.

Years of experience had taught him to seek the minister first.
To start the round of a small community with the prestige of having sold the minister himself a copy of Jarby's Encyclopedia made success a certainty.
He took the oilcloth-covered parcel from beneath his arm, and handed it to the minister gently, lovingly.
"Keep it until the picnic is over," he said.