“Ah! Thought you were to be a clergyman or a doctor. Going to be a carpenter?”
“No,” replied Vane sharply, and feeling full of resentment at being questioned so by a stranger. “I was measuring the walls.”
“What for?” said the stranger, stepping into the greenhouse and making the lad draw back.
“Well, if you must know, sir—”
“No, I see. Old flue worn-out;—measuring for a new one.”
Vane shook his head, and, in spite of himself, began to speak out freely, the stranger seeming to draw him.
“No; I was thinking of hot-water pipes.”
“Good! Modern and better. Always go in for improvements. Use large ones.”
“Do you understand heating with hot-water, sir?”
“A little,” said the stranger, smiling. “Where are you going to make your furnace?”