and Hettie is very fond
of her. Did I tell you that Thorne called upon her?"

"No," said Alton, with a curious vibration in his voice. "Well," said
Forel, "I meant to. No doubt he felt it his duty, but Hettie seemed to
fancy there was something else. Still, I think she was mistaken,
because he said good-bye to us when he went away, and we heard since
that he had sailed for another station."

"He was a good man," said Alton gravely.

Forel glanced at him curiously. "Women are subject to such fancies,
and Hettie had another once," he said. "In fact, I think she was quite
sorry when it apparently came to nothing."

Alton laughed mirthlessly. "Wasn't it a trifle foolish of Mrs. Forel?
Miss Deringham is a lady of position in the old country, and I a bush
rancher, standing on the brink of ruin, and a cripple."

"Of course," said Forel, "you know best. Still, I can't help fancying
you are unduly proud of your affliction, because it is scarcely
perceptible to other people, while Miss Deringham has not a great deal
to maintain her position with. You see the death duties are heavy in
the old country, and from the letters she has shown me Deringham
appears to have involved the estate considerably during his
stewardship."

Alton laid down his cigar. "It seems to me that we are taking a
liberty in discussing Miss Deringham's affairs," he said dryly.

"Well," said Forel, with a little smile, "you have a good deal to tell
me."

Alton nodded. "I went back to the mine after Damer's death," he said.
"Got there just before sun up, and we had our stakes in before Hallam's
men quite realized what we were after. Of course there was a circus,
but we had expected it and fixed things accordingly. Hallam's men went
out and I came down to see the Crown people in Victoria. Two or three
of the others, however, called on the nearest recorder's at the same
time as me. We came down in the same cars, you see."

"Have we any chance at all?" said Forel.

Alton smiled dryly. "I left Okanagan and Seaforth with enough of the
boys to hold the claim sitting tight," he said. "Talked to the chiefs
in Victoria, and showed them Damer's testimony. They told me that
nobody had a patent, and that everything that had been done was
informal, and because they would probably have to submit the case to
Ottawa it would take time for them to come to a decision. And now for
Somasco. The new mill's finished, but it has got to live on the local