out Shiela isn't worth enlightening." He looked out
across the lawn. "I hope it happens," he said. "And, by the way, dear,
I've got to go to town."

"O Neville!"

"Don't worry; I'm not going to contract pneumonia--"

"When are you going?"

"To-morrow, I think."

"Is it anything that bothers you?"

"No, nothing in particular. I have a letter from Acton. There seems to
be some uncertainty developing in one or two business quarters. I
thought I'd see for myself."

"Are you worrying?"

"About what?"

"About the Shoshone Securities Company?"

"Not exactly worrying."

She shook her head, but said nothing more.

During February the work on the Cardross estate developed sufficiently
to become intensely interesting to the family. A vast circular sunken
garden, bewitchingly formal, and flanked by a beautiful terrace and
balus trade of coquina, was approaching completion between the house and
an arm of the lagoon. The stone bridge over the water remained
unfinished, but already, across it, miles of the wide forest avenue
stretched straight away, set at intervals by carrefours centred with
fountain basins from which already tall sparkling columns of water
tumbled up into the sunshine.

But still the steam jets puffed up above the green tree-tops; and the
sickening whine of the saw-mill, and the rumble of traction engines over
rough new roads of shell, and the far racket of chisel and hammer on
wood and stone continued from daylight till dark.

Every day brought to Hamil new questions, new delays, vexations of
lighting, problems of piping and drainage. Contractors and
sub-contractors beset him; draughtsmen fairly buried him under tons of
drawings and blue-prints. All of which was as nothing compared to the
labour squabbles and endless petty entanglements which arose from
personal jealousy or political vindictiveness, peppered with dark hints
of peonage, threats, demands, and whispers of graft.

The leasing of convict labour for the more distant road work also
worried him, but the sheriffs of Dade and Volusia were pillars of
strength and comfort to him in perplexity--lean, soft-spoken, hawk-faced
gentlemen, gentle and incorruptible, who settled scuffles with a glance,
and local riots with a deadly drawl of warning which carried conviction
like a bullet to the "bad" nigger of the blue-gum variety, as well as to
the brutish white autocrat of the turpentine camps.

That the work progressed so swiftly was wonderful,