away from business for more than a week or two. The
works were mine until very recently, but there are times now when I'm
not altogether sorry I'm merely a director of the company."

Acton laid a handful of cigars on the table, and drew out a chair for
Nasmyth.

"Well," he replied reflectively, "there is a good deal in this country
that would interest a sensible man, but I'm not sure that's exactly
what has kept Mr. Wisbech so long in Victoria. I've a point or two to
mention later, but I'll let him speak first. It's his affair."

Nasmyth sat down, and he did not immediately notice that while Acton
had placed his chair where the light struck full upon his face,
Wisbech sat a little farther back in the shadow cast by the shade of
the lamp. After a moment Acton sought the dimmer part of the room.
Wisbech turned to Nasmyth.

"I understand that you expect to marry Miss Hamilton by-and-by," he
said. "No doubt you have thought over the question of what you're
going to keep a wife on?"

"I admit that it's one that has caused me a good deal of anxiety;" and
Nasmyth leaned forward, with his elbows on the table. "Still, it
hasn't troubled me quite so much of late. If I succeed with the scheme
I have in hand, it will bring me money enough to make a start with a
larger venture of the kind, or to enable me to undertake ranching on a
reasonably extensive scale. When the land is ready for cultivation,
and you haven't to face the initial cost of getting rid of heavy
timber, the business is a profitable one."

"It is possible that Miss Hamilton would not care to live at even a
tolerably extensive ranch. She has been accustomed to comfort of every
kind and cheerful society, and there can't be very much of either in
the Bush; while, if you undertake any further work of the kind you
suggest, it would be a few years before you made your mark. Now, I'm
not sure it would be reasonable to expect a young woman like Miss
Hamilton to wait indefinitely."

Nasmyth flushed a little. "I think," he replied, "that is a question
which concerns Miss Hamilton and me alone."

Acton leaned forward in his chair. "Mrs. Acton seems to fancy it
concerns her, too. In fact, that's one reason why I wrote to you.
Well, I'm going to lay before you a business proposition. You have
probably heard of the Hecla Mineral Exploitation concern? It's run by
two friends of mine, who have made a great deal of money out of their
claims. They're getting elderly, and are