"Aileen, just go on ahead up to the house and tell Mrs. Champney Mr. Googe is here." Aileen went at once, and Octavius explained.
"You see, Champney—Mr. Googe—"
"Have I changed so much, Tave, that you can't use the old name?"
"You've changed a sight; it don't come easy to call you Champ, any more than it did to call Mr. Louis by his Christian name. You look a Champney every inch of you, and you act like one." He spoke emphatically; his small keen eyes dwelt admiringly on the face and figure of the tall man before him. "I thought 't was better to send Aileen on ahead, for Mrs. Champney's broken a good deal since you saw her; she can't stand much excitement—and you're the living image." He called for the boy who had taken Romanzo's place. "I'll go up as far as the house with you. How long are you going to stay?"
"It depends upon how long it takes me to investigate these quarries, learn the ropes. A week or two possibly. I am to be treasurer of the Company with my office in New York."
"So I heard, so I heard. I'm glad it's come at last—no thanks to her," he added, nodding in the direction of the house.
"Do you still hold a grudge, Tave?"
"Yes, and always shall. Right's right and wrong's wrong, and there ain't a carpenter in this world that can dovetail the two. You and your mother have been cheated out of your rights in what should be yours, and it's ten to one if you ever get a penny of it."
Champney smiled at the little man's indignation. "All the more reason to congratulate me on my job, Tave."
"Well, I do; only it don't set well, this other business. She ain't helped you any to it?" He asked half hesitatingly.