hines and thought his clothes
smelt of oil; somehow he felt big and awkward. By and by Mrs. Halliday
asked what had occupied him in town, and he told her about his plans.
Evelyn looked interested.

"If you begin your dyke where you propose, won't Shanks' dabbin be in
the way?"

"The dabbin must come down," Jim replied.

A question from Mrs. Halliday led to his relating his interview with
Shanks, and Evelyn said, "Could you not have left the old man his
cottage? After all, it is picturesque."

"It isn't picturesque when you are near. Does beauty go with dirt and
neglect?"

"Perhaps it does not. I suppose the old Greeks gave us our standard of
beauty and they attained it by careful cultivation. For all that, they
rather conventionalized their type and one likes people with pluck
enough to strike an independent note. To some extent, one can
sympathize with Shanks, because he won't be clean by rule."

Jim unconsciously looked about the room, and Evelyn laughed. "Oh," she
said, "we don't copy the Greeks! Their model was austere simplicity,
the bold, flowing line: but we are luxuriously modern. However, it
would have been a graceful plan to leave Shanks alone."

"It wouldn't have been sound. You can't neglect a job that ought to be
put over, because you'd like to be graceful."

"You're not Greek," said Evelyn. "You're Roman."

"Then, if I get your meaning, Shanks is a barbarian, and the barbarians
who stood up against Roman order and efficiency were crushed. It's
probably lucky for Europe the legions marched over them."

"I suppose one must agree. It looks as if I must try again. What
about the king who coveted the vineyard?"

"To begin with, the other man owned the vineyard, but the ground Shanks
occupies is mine. Then it was a vineyard, while the Shanks homestead
is a hovel in a weed-choked garden lot. Anyhow, if you'd like it, I'll
see if it is possible to leave his place alone."

Evelyn was flattered. She enjoyed the sense of power, but she
hesitated. Jim was easy to understand and had gone farther than she
had thought. To let him make a concession that might cost him extra
work would give him a claim, and she did not want him for a creditor
yet.

"Oh, no," she said carelessly, "you mustn't change your plans! I was
indulging a romantic sentiment and expect you know what you ought to
do. But you were nice when you were willing to think about the thing."

Then Mrs. Halliday began to ta