“Oh, you are nice!” exclaimed Cally.  “You can’t guess what it means to be encouraged!...  I do so want to go into it seriously.”

He talked further, indicating the procedure:  first her own idea of what she wanted; then an architect to sketch some plans; then a builder to figure after the architect.  The thing began to shape up, rapidly, definitely.  She found him an inspiriting soul....

“I ought to say,” she explained, quite excited, “that I mentioned fifty thousand dollars only because that was the sum I happened to have, in a lump.  But we’re going to make it good, no matter what it costs.  I have a little more money of my own,” said she, “about eight thousand dollars, and of course I’ll put that in, too.  And I know my father will feel the same way.”

But no, V.V.’s belief was that the sum she mentioned would be far more than necessary.  She could get a rough sort of estimate at once, if desired, given the dimensions of the lot and a general idea of the style of building she wanted.  His friend, Jem Noonan, he who was just now starting out as a contractor, would be only too delighted to do some figuring on it.

“Of course the best way of all to gather ideas at the start,” said he, staring through her, “is to go to the Works—­go often....  There’s no other such way of seeing what the actual needs are.”

“Yes ...  Yes, of course that’s true,” said Cally.

But what she felt like saying was that she didn’t want to go to the Works at all, unless he could go with her.

“I want to get your ideas now, please,” she added—­“everything you can think of.  You can’t have any notion how ignorant I am....  But—­oh, there’s one thing I wanted to speak to you about first.  I suppose—­even at the best—­it would be some time before the new building could begin?”

Oh, a few months, no doubt, before all plans would be ready, and her father’s arrangements made to move.

“Do you think the floors in this old building are very strong?  The man who was with me the day I went there didn’t seem to think so—­and I didn’t either!  And some very heavy-looking new machines were being put in the bunching-room, and I believe some more are going to be put in to-morrow.”

“Oh!...  You mean you think they might overload the floor?”

“Don’t you?”

“Well—­it’s possible,” admitted Mr. V.V., slowly, and one could see that he didn’t altogether like the idea of anybody’s criticizing Mr. Heth’s conduct of his business.  “But—­ah—­really I don’t—­”

“Couldn’t we fix it, in some simple way—­brace up the floor somehow?”

“Oh, yes.  You’d have no trouble in fixing it....  Far as that goes.”

“Don’t you think you could manage to say we once?”

“Oh!” said Mr. V.V., pleased.  “I could that!...  I didn’t know, you see, how far you cared to let me in.”

Cally smiled at him over the library table.