Bodet looked at him a little. “You wouldn’t build a twenty-thousand dollar house just with the home-folks, would you!”
“I do’ ’no’ why not,” said Uncle William, “It ain’t so much different from any other house, fur as I see—just more of it—more spread. There’s George Manning,” he suggested.
“The carpenter?” Bodet’s lip smiled.
“Well—he ain’t exactly a carpenter—not exactly,” said Uncle William. “He’s a fisherman too—first-class—and he can steer any kind of a craft you want to rig up. He was captain on the Halifax Line one spell.” Uncle William’s eye followed the boats passing across the harbor. “An’ he’s a kind o’ mason, and a first-rate painter—I do’ ’no’s you could git a man knows more ’n George Manning does.... I never see the thing yet George wa ’n’t willing to tackle. Seems’s if he kind o’ liked to try his hand at things folks said couldn’t be done. I’ve seen him sit up night after night figgering on things—”
“He ’ll have to figure some on this,” said Bodet. He drew the plans from his pocket. “This is what we’ve just split on—Ordway and I—” He spread out the paper, holding it between his hands. Uncle William moved over a little toward it. Andy dropped an eye from above.... “This is it,” said Bodet. “You see how that roof-line comes down, don’t you?”
“Uh-huh,” Uncle William looked at it with pleased smile—“Comfy, ain’t it—Sort o’ makes a house look like an old hen with her chickens.”
“That’s it,” said Bodet quickly, “It’s the very thing I want—a house that settles down among the rocks as if it belonged there—The architect got the idea all right—from photographs. But he hadn’t been here and we hadn’t allowed for that dip to the south—You know it?”
Uncle William nodded. “Drops fo’-five feet, I should think?”
“Six—: a little over six,” replied Bodet, “and this is the kind of thing he wanted—Ordway wanted!” He took out a rough pencil sketch and held it at arm’s length. “He wants to run it out here in the air, this way, and put a lattice-work underneath.... paint it green, I suppose.” He snorted a little.
“Does look kind o’ funny—don’t it, Andy?” said Uncle William.