Carter laughed. "I'm afraid you made the same mistake that everybody else made, from Slade and old Image. She is the K. O'Neill of the kindly-buck-up-and-get-it-done letters. She is the Mr. K. that you chaffed me about at Malla-Nulla for admiring so much as a business man." "My God!" said Swizzle-Stick Smith, and sat back limply against the wall of the hut, and then "My God!" he said again. Carter hesitated, and then, "Did you," he ventured, "know Miss Kate's own people before the late Godfrey took her over?" Mr. Smith, with an obvious effort, pulled himself together. "I did, Mr. Carter. Her mother--she--she died. Her father went under. He had a pretty trying time of it first, but when the pinch came he went under most thoroughly. Godfrey O'Neill, good fellow that he was, took the child then, and so she got her chance, and, thank heaven, she's used it." Carter looked at the old man narrowly. "And is the father alive now?" But by this time Mr. Smith was his old cool, profane self again. "How the devil should I know? Do you think I keep track of all the failures in Africa? You seem very interested in this young woman yourself. May I ask if you've any aspirations in that direction?" "If you mean have I any wish to marry her, I can answer that best by telling you that I'm engaged to marry Laura Slade." "Ah, I see. Well, Mr. Carter, we will drop the subject, which is a painful one to me for many reasons. Let us get on to your personal schemes. In what way can I forward them?" CHAPTER XV TIN HILL: THE MINE Tin Hill, when they got to it, carried riches that lay in full view of the sky. The mountain of country rock which held the veins reared up out of the dark green bush, red-streaked and barren, and the last day's march towards it lay through a heavy growth of rubber vines. Even the Krooboy could not help noticing these. "O Carter," he said, "rubber lib for here. Dem Missy Kate she say rubber-palaver beat oil-palaver, an' kernels, an' gum, all-e-same cocked hat." "She didn't. Those are my words of wisdom you've got hold of. Still I admit the sentiments are Miss O'Neill's. But the main thing is, Trouble, that rubber takes capital and labor to handle, and this firm's short of both at the moment. We'll leave rubber to Miss O'Neill for the present." "O Carter, dem Missy Kate, she no fit for love you now?" "She no fit," said Carter, with a sigh, "because you savvy I fit for do wife-palaver with dem Miss Laura."