noon
Before leaving , he sold the publican two bottles of the world-famous Healing Mixture as a pick-me-up . On the second day the doctor set out to cover as much ground as possible . He was astute enough to recognise the wisdom of moving on before his customers had time to compare notes . Before noon , he sold six bottles of the Healing Mixture for influenza , two bottles of the Rheumatic Balm , and one bottle of the same as a certain cure for a peculiar disorder in pigs . Nickie was going along the main road , heading north , branching off to the farm-houses by the way to sell his cure-all . He sold one guileless housewife a bottle , assuring her that it would convert brass spoons into real silver . A little mercury in a rag helped this trifling deception .