Longworth, without rising from his chair, shook hands in rather a surly fashion. 'I am going to speak to my father,' said the girl, 'and will leave you to talk over the mica-mine.' When she had gone, young Longworth asked Kenyon: 'Where is the mine my cousin speaks of?' 'It is near the Ottawa River, in Canada,' was the answer. 'And what do you expect to sell it for?' 'Fifty thousand pounds.' 'Fifty thousand pounds! That will leave nothing to divide up among--by the way, how many are there in this thing--yourself alone?' 'No; my friend Wentworth shares with me.' 'Share and share alike?' 'Yes.' 'Of course, you think this mine is worth the money you ask for it--there is no swindle about it, is there?' Kenyon drew himself up sharply as this remark was made. Then he answered coldly: 'If there was any swindle about it, I should have nothing to do with it.' 'Well, you see, I didn't know; mining swindles are not such rarities as you may imagine. If the mine is so valuable, why are the proprietors anxious to sell?' 'The owners are in Austria, and the mine in Canada, and so it is rather at arm's-length, as it were. They are mining for mica, but the mine is more valuable in other respects than it is as a mica property. They have placed a figure on the mine which is more than it has cost them so far.' 'You know its value in those other respects?' 'I do.' 'Does anyone know this except yourself?' 'I think not--no one but my friend Wentworth.' 'How did you come to learn its value?' 'By visiting the mine. Wentworth and I went together to see it.' 'Oh, is Wentworth also a mining expert?' 'No; he is an accountant in London.' 'Both of you were sent out by the London Syndicate, I understand, to look after their mines, or the mines they thought of purchasing, were you not?' 'We were.' 'And you spent your time in looking up other properties for yourselves, did you?' Kenyon reddened at this question. 'My dear sir,' he said, 'if you are going to talk in this strain, you will have to excuse me. We were sent by the London Syndicate to do a certain thing. We did it, and did it thoroughly. After it was done the time was our own, as much as it is at the present moment. We were not hired by the day, but took a stated sum for doing a certain piece of work. I may go further and say that the time was our own at any period of our visit, so long as we fulfilled what the London Syndicate required of us.' 'Oh, I meant no offence,' said Longworth. 'You merely seemed to be posing as a sort of goody-goody young man when I spoke of mining swindles, so I only wished to startle you. How much have you to pay for the mine--that is the mica-mine?' Kenyon hesitated for a moment. 'I do not feel at liberty to mention the sum until I have consulted with my friend Wentworth.' 'Well, you see, if I am to help you in this matter, I shall need to know every particular.' 'Certainly. I shall have to consult Wentworth as to whether we require any help or not.'