she wanted, and
both of them having told her what she ought to have, she determined to
leave the whole matter in their hands. This resolution was greatly
approved by her sailor friend, for, as the object of the plan of
construction was to relieve her of all annoyance consequent upon
building operations, the more she left everything to those who delighted
in the turmoil of construction, the better it would be for all.

Everything had been done in the plans to prevent interference with the
neatness and comfort of Mrs. Cliff's present abode. The door of the new
dining-room was so arranged that when it was moved up to the old house,
it would exactly fit against a door in the latter which opened from a
side hall upon a little porch. This porch being removed, the two doors
would fit exactly to each other, and there would be none of the dust and
noise consequent upon the cutting away of walls.

So Mrs. Cliff and Willy lived on in peace, comfort, and quiet in their
old home, while on the corner lot there was hammering, and banging, and
sawing all day. Mr. Burke would have had this work go on by night, but
the contractor refused. His men would work extra hours in consideration
of extra inducements, but good carpenter work, he declared, could not be
done by lantern light.

The people of Plainton did not at all understand the operations on the
corner lot. Mr. Burke did not tell them much about it, and the
contractor was not willing to talk. He had some doubts in regard to the
scheme, but as he was well paid, he would do his best. It had been
mentioned that the new building was to be Mrs. Cliff's dining-room, but
this idea soon faded out of the Plainton mind, which was not adapted to
grasp and hold it.

Consequently, as Mr. Burke had a great deal to do with the building, and
as Mrs. Cliff did not appear to be concerned in it at all, it was
generally believed that the gentleman at the hotel was putting up a
house for himself on the corner lot. This knowledge was the only
conclusion which would explain the fact that the house was built upon
smooth horizontal timbers, and not upon a stone or brick foundation. A
man who had been a sailor might fancy to build a house something as he
would build a ship in a shipyard, and not attach it permanently to the
earth.

CHAPTER IX

A MEETING OF HEIRS

While the building operations were going on at such a rapid rate on the
corner lot, Mrs. Cliff tried to make herself as happy as