"No; rather the other way. He finds the mines very good properties, and he thinks that if they were managed intelligently they would be good paying investments--that is, at a proper price, you know--not at what the owners ask for them at present. But you can have no possible interest in these dry details."
"Indeed, you are mistaken. I think what you have told me intensely interesting."
For once in her life Miss Jennie Brewster told the exact truth. The unfortunate man at her side was flattered.
"For what I have told you," he said, "we were offered twice what the London people pay us for coming out here. In fact, even more than that: we were asked to name our own price."
"Really now! By the owners of the property, I suppose, if you wouldn"t tell on them?"
"No. By one of your famous New York newspaper men. He even went so far as to steal the papers that Kenyon had in Ottawa. He was cleverly caught, though, before he could make any use of what he had stolen. In fact, unless his people in New York had the figures which were originally placed before the London Board, I doubt if my statistics would have been of much use to him even if he had been allowed to keep them. The full significance of my report will not show until the figures I have given are compared with those already in the hands of the London people, which were vouched for as correct by your clever American accountant."
"You shouldn"t run down an accountant just because he is American.
Perhaps there will come a day, Mr. Wentworth, when you will admit that there are Americans who are more clever than either that accountant or that newspaper man. I don"t think your specimens are typical."
"I don"t "run down," as you call it, the men because they are Americans.
I "run down" the accountant because he was either ignorant or corrupt. I "run down" the newspaper man because he was a thief."
Miss Brewster was silent for a few moments. She was impressing on her memory what he had said to her, and was anxious to get away, so that she could write out in her cabin exactly what had been told her. The sound of the lunch-gong gave her the excuse she needed, so, bidding her victim a pleasant and friendly farewell, she hurried from the deck to her state-room.
CHAPTER VII.
One morning, when Kenyon went to his state-room on hearing the breakfast-gong, he found the lazy occupant of the upper berth still in his bunk.
"Come, Wentworth," he shouted, "this won"t do, you know. Get up! get up!
breakfast, my boy! breakfast!--the most important meal in the day to a healthy man."
Wentworth yawned and stretched his arms over his head.
"What"s the row?" he asked.
"The row is, it"s time to get up. The second gong has sounded."
"Dear me! is it so late? I didn"t hear it." Wentworth sat up in his bunk, and looked ruefully over the precipice down the chasm to the floor. "Have you been up long?" he asked.
"Long? I have been on deck an hour and a half," answered Kenyon.
"Then, Miss What"s-her-Name must have been there also."
"Her name is Miss Longworth," replied Kenyon, without looking at his comrade.
"That"s her name, is it? and she _was_ on deck?"
"She was."
"I thought so," said Wentworth; "just look at the divine influence of woman! Miss Longworth rises early, therefore John Kenyon rises early.
Miss Brewster rises late, therefore George Wentworth is not seen until breakfast-time. If the conditions were reversed, I suppose the getting-up time of the two men would be changed accordingly."
"Not at all, George--not at all. I would rise early whether anybody else on board did or not. In fact, when I got on deck this morning, I expected to have it to myself."
"I take it, though, that you were not grievously disappointed when you found you hadn"t a monopoly?"
"Well, to tell the truth, I was not; Miss Longworth is a charmingly sensible girl."
"Oh, they all are," said Wentworth lightly. "You had no sympathy for me the other day. Now you know how it is yourself, as they say across the water."
"I don"t know how it is myself. The fact is, we were talking business."
"Really? Did you get so far?"
"Yes, we got so far, if that is any distance. I told her about the mica-mine."
"Oh, you did! What did she say? Will she invest?"
"Well, when I told her we expected to form a company for fifty thousand pounds, she said it was such a small sum, she doubted if we could get anybody interested in it in London."
Wentworth, who was now well advanced with his dressing, gave a long whistle.
"Fifty thousand pounds a small sum? Why, John, she must be very wealthy!
Probably more so than the American millionairess."
"Well, George, you see, the difference between the two young ladies is this: that while American heiresses are apt to boast of their immense wealth, English women say nothing about it."
"If you mean Miss Brewster when you speak in that way, you are entirely mistaken. She has never alluded to her wealth at all, with the exception of saying that her father was a millionaire. So if the young woman you speak of has been talking of her wealth at all, she has done more than the American girl."
"She said nothing to indicate she was wealthy. I merely conjectured it when I discovered she looked upon fifty thousand pounds as a triviality."
"Well, the fault is easily remedied. We may raise the price of the mine to one hundred thousand pounds if we can get people to invest. Perhaps the young lady"s father might care to go in for it at that figure."
"Oh, by the way, Wentworth," said Kenyon, "I forgot to tell you, Miss Longworth"s father is one of the London Syndicate."
"By Jove! are you sure of that? How do you know? You weren"t talking of our mission out there, were you?"
"Certainly not," replied Kenyon, flushing. "You don"t think I would speak of that to a stranger, do you? nor of anything concerned with our reports."
Wentworth proceeded with his dressing, a guilty feeling rising in his heart.
"I want to ask you a question about that."
"About what?" said Wentworth shortly.
"About those mines. Miss Longworth"s father being a member of the London Syndicate, suppose he asks what our views in relation to the matter are: would we be justified in telling him anything?"
"He won"t ask me as I don"t know him; he may ask you, and if he does, then you will have to decide the question for yourself."