life, and Nasmyth was not sorry when they reached the wooden
hotel. Acton stopped a moment in front of the building.

"Hutton's an acquaintance of mine, and if you have to apply to men of
his kind, he is, perhaps, as reliable as most," he said. "Still, you
want to remember that in this country it's every man for himself,
especially when you undertake a deal in land." He smiled suggestively.
"And now we'll go in and see him."

They came upon a man who appeared a little older than Nasmyth. He was
sitting on the veranda, which was spacious, and had one or two wooden
pillars with crude scroll-work attached to them in front. Acton nodded
to the stranger.

"This is Mr. Nasmyth," he said. "He came up with me. Doing much round
here?"

The question was abrupt, but the man smiled.

"Oh," he answered, "we endeavour to do a little everywhere."

"Then I'll leave you to it, and look round again by-and-by. I guess I
may as well mention that Mr. Nasmyth is coming back with me."

Acton looked hard at Hutton, who smiled again. "Oh, yes," replied
Hutton, "I understand that. It's quite likely we'll have the thing
fixed up in half an hour or so. A cigar, Mr. Nasmyth?"

Nasmyth took a cigar, and went with Hutton to the little table which
had been set out, on the inner side of the veranda, with a carafe of
ice-water and a couple of bottles. They sat down at it, and Hutton
took out two letters and glanced at them.

"Now," he said, "we'll get to work. I understand your proposition is
to run the water out of the Cedar Valley. What's the area?"

"About four thousand acres available for ranching land, though it has
never been surveyed."

"And you want to take up as many acres beforehand as you can, and
can't quite raise the capital?"

Nasmyth said that was very much the state of affairs, and Hutton
drummed his fingers on the table. He was a lean-faced man, dressed
quietly and precisely, in city fashion, but he wore a big stone in a
ring on one hand, which for no very evident reason prejudiced his
companion against him.

"Well," he averred, "we might consider going into the thing and
finding part of the capital. It's our business, but naturally we would
want to be remunerated for the risk. It's rather a big one. You see,
you would have to take up the whole four thousand acres."

"Then," replied Nasmyth, "what's your proposition?"

"We'll put up what money you can't raise, and our surveyor will locate
land at present first-class