“My! How you’ve worked, Carey! I think its wonderful you’ve accomplished so much in such a short time.”
“Aw! That’s nothing!” said Carey, exuding delight at her praise. “I coulda done more if I hadn’t had to go after the stuff. But say, Nell, I promised Pat I’d come around and help him with a big truck this afternoon; and I guess I better go now, or I won’t get home in time for supper. Pat owes me five dollars anyhow, and I need it to pay for the stuff I bought this morning. I told the fella I’d bring it round this afternoon.”
Cornelia thought of her hoarded money, and opened her lips to offer some of it, then thought better of it. It would be good for Carey to take some of the responsibility and earn the money to beautify the house. He would be more interested in getting a job. So she smiled assent, and told him to hurry and be sure to be back in time for supper, for she was going to have veal potpie, and it had to be eaten as soon as it was done, or it would fall.
Carey went away whistling, and Cornelia sat down to her stencilling.
She had done a great deal of this work at college, often making quite a bit of money at it; so it was swift work, and soon she had a pair of curtains finished, and pinned one up to the window to get the effect. She was just getting down from the step-ladder when she heard a knock at the door; and, wondering, she hurried to open it.
There stood a tall, bronzed man with a red face, very blue eyes, and a pleasant smile; and it suddenly came over her that this must be “Jim,” and she had forgotten to tell his wife not to send him over.
“My wife said you wanted me to come over and see about some work you wanted done,” he said, pulling off his cap and stepping in. “I thought I’d just run right in before dark, if you didn’t mind work-clothes.”
“Oh, no,” said Cornelia, looking worried, “of course not; but really I’m afraid I didn’t make it plain to your wife I haven’t any idea of doing anything now—that is, I don’t suppose it would be possible—I haven’t any money, and won’t have for a while.”
“That’s all right,” said the man, looking around the house alertly; “it don’t cost nothing to estimate. I just love to estimate. What was it you was calculating to do when you do build over?”
“Oh!” said Cornelia, abashed. “I don’t know that I had really thought it all out, but this house is so cramped and ugly I was just wishing I could take down this partition and throw the parlor and hall all into one. Do you think the ceiling would stand that? I suppose it’s a foolish idea, for I don’t know a thing about building; but this would really make a very pretty room if the hall wasn’t cut off this way.”