ut,” said Tommaso, “we must not promise more than we can do.”
“Absolutely not!” agreed Dixon. “But this we can do.”
Tommaso smiled as Carmella translated. He was discovering that he liked Dixon. Their ideas seemed in tune at every important point.
This was one of their frequent evening conferences about jobs and contracts. Both were cheerful, because business was developing more rapidly than either had hoped.
Tommaso was gradually winning a reputation for reliability. Honest work was his instinct. He had learned it in Italy. In this new country he had seen men flourish for a time, and then disappear for lack of it. He decided that there were some American ideas of haste and slipshod work which were not good.
Dixon met his standards. And Dixon had developed a strange versatility. He drove trucks, kept in touch with the market, wrote contracts, and had an instinctive sense for new business.
His energy and acquaintance brought contracts to
[261]
