"Is the cottage on the lot?"
"Why do you ask?"
"It don't look it."
"Never mind that. I'll sell you the lot and the cottage. If the house isn't on the lot it's somewhere in the neighborhood, and no one's going to ask any questions."
"Why not?"
"Because they daren't. They're all in the same boat. There hasn't been a surveyor allowed in Tamawaca for ages. When a man wants to build, he buys a lot of me an' Easton an' then hunts for the lot. If he thinks he's found it, he's lucky. If there don't appear to be a lot where he thinks it ought to be, he just builds his cottage and takes the chances."
"All right," said Jarrod. "I'll take my chances. How much for Lake View?"
"Well, dear boy, I've taken a liking to you, and so I'm willing to sacrifice. I'll pay good money to get you here as a resident. But it's a dreadful shame to think how property's advanced here lately. I've tried to keep it down, but I can't. Here's a case, though, where I can forget high prices and be generous. You can have Lake View for four thousand dollars."
"What!"
"And I'll trust to luck to keep Nora and me out o' the poor-house."