Captain Sol smiled grimly.
"You don't look merry as a Christmas tree, Sim," he observed.

"What did his Majesty have to say to you ?" Simeon related the talk with Williams.

The depot master's grim smile grew broader.
"Sim," he asked, with quiet sarcasm, "don't you realize that progressive methods are necessary in movin' a house ?" Phinney tried to smile in return, but the attempt was a failure.
"Yes," went on the Captain.

"Well, if you can't take the Grand Panjandrum home, you can set on the fence and see him go by.

That ought to be honor enough, hadn't it?
However, I may need some of your ridiculous figgers on a movin' job of my own, pretty soon.