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 "I don't think I am at all."

"But you are," said June. "You must be very clever indeed to go about the country buying rare things cheap for Uncle Si to sell."

"Oh, anybody can pick up a few odds and ends now and again if one has been given the money to buy them."

"Anybody couldn't. I couldn't for one."

"Isn't that because you've not been brought up to the business?"

"It's more than that," said June shrewdly. "You must have a special gift for picking up things of value."

"I may have," the young man modestly allowed. "The master trusts me as a rule to tell whether a thing is genuine."

June pinned him with her eyes. "Then tell me this." Her suddenness took him completely by surprise. "Is he genuine?"

"Who? The master!"

"Yes—Uncle Si."

The answer came without an instant's hesitation. "Yes, Miss June, he is. The master is a genuine piece."

"I am very glad to hear it," said June with a slight frown.

"Yes, the master is genuine." Depth and conviction were in the young man's tone. "In fact," he added slowly, "you might say he is a museum piece."

At this solemnity June smiled.

"He's a very good man." A warmth of affection fused the simple words. "Why he took me from down