The person who answered his ring was a sweet-faced little woman of perhaps forty-five years. She wore spectacles, and the near-sighted way in which she peered up at Hansel seemed to add to the homely kindliness of her expression. Even had Phin not mentioned the fact that Mrs. Freer was a relative of his, Hansel would have guessed it from the resemblance between the two. Mrs. Freer was very sorry Phineas was out, and begged Hansel to leave his name and a message, if there was one. So Hansel scribbled a note on a slip of paper and asked her to give it to Phin.
“I would like to have you come and put up a shelf for me when you have time,” he wrote. “If you can call to-morrow afternoon between half-past two and three I shall be at home. Yours, Dana, 22 Prince.”
That evening he mentioned to Bert his intention of having a shelf put up above the couch in the study. He expected opposition, and was not disappointed.
“A shelf?” exclaimed Bert. “What do you want a shelf for?”
“My books.”
“But you’ve only got about a dozen! What do you want a six-foot shelf for, I’d like to know?”
“I may get some more.”
“Well, it’ll make the place look like the dickens!”
“Oh, no, it won’t. I’ll get Dorr to enamel it white.”