'Certainly,' answered Edith Longworth, laughing. 'At least, my father is, and that is the same thing, or almost the same thing. We intended to go to Canada ourselves, and I was very much disappointed at not going. I understand that the sleighing, and the snowshoeing, and the tobogganing are something wonderful.' 'I saw very little of the social side of life in the district, my whole time being employed at the mines; but even in the mining village where we stayed, they had a snowshoe club, and a very good toboggan slide--so good, in fact, that, having gone down once, I never ventured to risk my life on it again.' 'If my father knew you were on board, he would be anxious to meet you. Doubtless you know the London Syndicate will be a very large company.' 'Yes, I am aware of that.' 'And you know that a great deal is going to depend upon your report?' 'I suppose that is so, and I hope the syndicate will find my report at least an honest and thorough one.' 'Is the colleague who was with you also on board?' 'Yes, he is here.' 'He, then, was the accountant who was sent out?' 'Yes, and he is a man who does his business very thoroughly, and I think the syndicate will be satisfied with his work.' 'And do you not think they will be satisfied with yours also? I am sure you did your work conscientiously.' Kenyon almost blushed as the young woman made this remark, but she looked intently at him, and he saw that her thoughts were not on him, but on the large interests he represented. 'Were you favourably impressed with the Ottawa as a mining region?' she asked. 'Very much so,' he answered, and, anxious to turn the conversation away from his own report, he said: 'I was so much impressed with it that I secured the option of a mine there for myself.' 'Oh! do you intend to buy one of the mines there?' Kenyon laughed. 'No, I am no capitalist seeking investment for my money, but I saw that the mine contained possibilities of producing a great deal of money for those who possess it. It is very much more valuable, in my opinion, than the owners themselves suspect; so I secured an option upon it for three months, and hope when I reach England to form a company to take it up.' 'Well, I am sure,' said the young lady, 'if you are confident that the mine is a good one, you could see no one who would help you more in that way than my father. He has been looking at a brewery business he thought of investing in, but which he has concluded to have nothing to do with, so he will be anxious to find something reliable in its place. How much would be required for the purchase of the mine you mention?' 'I was thinking of asking fifty thousand pounds for it,' said Kenyon, flushing, as he thought of his own temerity in more than doubling the price of the mine.