“I was in a whirl, an ecstasy, an enthusiasm; but as somebody remarks, nothing is done without enthusiasm; now what should I do with mine, that, and nothing else?
“Suddenly, to Elsie’s great perplexity, I gave a shout and rushed out the dining-room door, and down through the tangles into the road.
“I had espied two men, working men, in shirt sleeves, with coats thrown over their arms. Farmers, or farmer’s sons, probably, great, true-hearted sons of the soil, knightly fellows who were ready to—
“‘Are you—do you know anybody—’ I began, breathless, and with flying hair.
“They stopped and gazed at me.
“‘We have just moved in. I would like things moved, and bedsteads put up, and boxes opened.’
“‘We can do it,’ said one promptly.
“He had lost one eye; the other eye looked honest.
“‘Yes, we’re out of the work,’ said his companion.
“He had a stiff neck; he did not look quite so honest.