Simeon sat down on a rock by the roadside and whistled.
However, whistling was a luxurious and time-wasting method of expressing amazement, and Mr.Phinney could not afford luxuries just then.

For the rest of that day he was a busy man.

As Bailey Stitt expressed it, he "flew round like a sand flea in a mitten," hiring laborers, engaging masons, and getting his materials ready.

That very afternoon the masons began tearing down the chimneys of the little Berry house.

Before the close of the following day it was on the rollers.