"No!" said Geraldine promptly. "I think you are doing what is fine! You must go on; I want you to win. The difficulties won't look so serious if you attack them one by one, and it must be worth something to have the right on your side. There is so much injustice everywhere and few people seem to mind. No doubt it's dangerous to interfere, but it's encouraging to find a man here and there who is not afraid." She looked up at a sound and saw her father standing in the doorway. "One here and there?" smiled Frobisher. "You're not exacting. In France, they once asked for a hundred men who knew how to die, and found them in one southern town." Geraldine's color was higher than usual, but she laughed. "I suppose I am a bit of a sentimentalist; but you're too cynical. I don't see why you should be proud of your detached and critical attitude. You look on as if the sight of people struggling amused you." "I don't think I really am proud of it, but perhaps there's something to be said for the intelligent spectator who knows his limitations and is content with trying to see fair play. However, I came to take Allinson away for a smoke. If I leave him to you, you'll be sending him off on some new chivalrous adventure." Seeing that his host was waiting for him, Andrew rose, but as he reached the door Geraldine looked at him with a smile. "What I said was rather crude, but I meant it." "She generally does mean things; it's a habit that has its drawbacks," Frobisher said, as he led Andrew to his smoking-room, where he gave him a cigar and pointed to an easy-chair. "What are you going to do about Mappin?" the American asked bluntly. "Nothing. As he has only to deny what I told him to clear himself, there's no means of punishing him. I can't see any use in making a fuss that can have no result. It would simply show I was the weaker party." "You're wise," Frobisher agreed. Then his eyes twinkled. "Carnally, however, seems to have seen a way out of the difficulty. You haven't heard what happened at the settlement?" "No; I hired a sleigh and went for a drive. After that I slept until I came here. I tried to keep out of people's way." "You missed a dramatic scene at the store. I'm told Carnally threw Mappin downstairs and out into the snow." Andrew shook his head dubiously. "It's a pity, but I might have been prepared for something of the kind. I can hardly grudge him any satisfaction he derived from it." "It was a good stroke; Mappin will find it damaging." "But I understood he was a friend of yours," Andrew said with some awkwardness. "He came to my house. I put up with him, which I think describes it best, though I fail to see much reason for doing so any longer. But what are you going to do about the lode?" "Go back and investigate it thoroughly. We'll wait until the spring."