the power in the world; considered it, perhaps,
beneath his dignity to be sent for by word of mouth. But how was it he
had come to Sellanraa at all just then--just when he was most wanted?
A great one he must be for knowing things, all manner of things.
Anyway, when the gentlemen up at the mine had Geissler's answer, there
was nothing for it but they must bestir themselves and come all the
way down to Sellanraa again. The engineer and the two mining experts
came with them.

So many crooked ways and turnings were there before that meeting
was brought about. It looked ill to start with; ay, Geissler was
over-lordly by far.

The gentlemen were polite enough this time; begged him to excuse their
having sent a verbal message the day before, being tired out after
their journey. Geissler was polite in return, and said he too was
tired out after his journey, or he would have come. Well, and then, to
get to business; Would Geissler sell the land south of the water?

"Do you wish to purchase on your own account, may I ask," said
Geissler, "or are you acting as agents?"

Now this could be nothing but sheer contrariness on Geissler's part;
he could surely see for himself that rich and portly gentlemen of
their stamp would not be acting as agents. They went on to discuss
terms. "What about the price?" said they.

"The price?--yes," said Geissler, and sat thinking it over. "A couple
of million," said he.

"Indeed?" said the gentlemen, and smiled. But Geissler did not smile.

The engineer and the two experts had made a rough investigation of the
ground, made a few borings and blastings, and here was their report:
the occurrence of ore was due to eruption; it was irregular, and
from their preliminary examination appeared to be deepest in the
neighbourhood of the boundary between the company's land and
Geissler's decreasing from there onwards. For the last mile or so
there was no ore to be found worth working.

Geissler listened to all this with the greatest nonchalance. He took
some papers from his pocket, and looked at them carefully; but the
papers were not charts nor maps--like as not they were things no way
connected with the mine at all.

"You haven't gone deep enough," said he, as if it were something he
had read in his papers. The gentlemen admitted that at once, but
the engineer asked: How did he know that--"You haven't made borings
yourself, I suppose?"

And Geissler smiled, as if he had bored hundreds of miles do