"Put it to a vote," I replied.
"All in favor, aye," he continued.
There was silence in the room except for one of the dogs that, asleep under the table, stirred uneasily and whined as if rousing from a dream of an unattainable bone.
"It's a vote against. How about piping in gas?"
"No!" we protested as one.
"Settled," he said smiling. We saw that our decision pleased him.
"Confess, now, Gordon, you did n't want any such innovations yourself," said the Doctor.
"I did n't, for I like my—home, as it is," he said simply.
"I like to hear you use that word 'home', Gordon," said the Doctor, looking intently into the fire; "as long as I 've known you, I think I 've never heard you use it."
"No." The man on the opposite side of the hearth spoke decidedly, but in a tone that did not invite further confidence. "I 've never intended to use it until I could feel the sense of it."