He marked the adverb of addition and wondered if Vincent Farley had been less reticent than Major Dabney. "No; I didn't quarrel with your grandfather." "But you did quarrel with Mr. Farley?--or was it with Vincent?" He smiled and shook his head. "We can't do it, Ardea--go back to the old way, you know. You see there's a stump in the road, the very first thing." "I shan't admit it," she said half-defiantly. "I am going to make you like the Farleys." He shook his head again. "You'll have to make a Christian of me first, and teach me how to love my enemies." "Don't you do that now?" "No; not unless you are my enemy; I love you." She looked up at him appealingly. "Don't make fun of such things, Tom. Love is sacred." "I was never further from making fun of things in my life. I mean it with every drop of blood in me. You said you didn't want to find me changed; I'm not changed in that, at least." "You ridiculous boy!" she said; but that was only a stop-gap, and Longfellow added another by coming to a stand opposite a vast obstruction of building material half damming the white road. "What are you doing here--building more additions?" she asked. "No," said Tom. "It is a new plant--a pipe foundry." "Don't tell me we are going to have more neighbors in Paradise," she said in mock concern. "I'll tell you something that may shock you worse than that: the owner of this new plant has camped down right next door to Deer Trace." "How dreadful! You don't mean that!" "Oh, but I do. He's a young man, of poor but honest parentage, with a large eye for the main chance. I shouldn't be surprised if he took every opportunity to make love to you." "How absurd you can be, Tom! Who is he?" "He is Mr. Caleb Gordon's son. I think you think you know him, but you don't; nobody does." "Really, Tom? Have you gone into business for yourself? I thought you had another year at Boston." "I have another year coming to me, but I don't know when I shall get it. And I am in business for myself; though perhaps I should be modest and call it a firm--Gordon and Gordon." "What does the firm do?" "A number of things; among others, it buys the entire iron output of the Chiawassee Consolidated, just at present." "Dear me!" she said; "how fine and large that sounds! If I should say anything like that you would tell me that Brag was a good dog, but--" He grinned ecstatically. It was so like old times--the good old times--to be bandying good-tempered abuse with her. "I do brag a lot, don't I? But have you ever noticed that I 'most always have something to brag about? This time, for instance. I built this new firm, and it is all that has kept Chiawassee from going into the sheriff's hands any time during the past six months."