He hung up the receiver and turned to meet her glistening eyes fixed upon him in ecstasy. "It's better than all right," he assured her. He was more enthusiastic about this than he had ever been about any business deal in his life, that is, more openly enthusiastic, for Miss Josephine's enthusiasm was contagion itself. He took her arm with a swing, and they hurried into the writing-room, which was deserted for the time being on account of the mail having just come in. Sam placed a chair for her and they sat down at the table. "I want to figure a minute," said he. "Now that I have actual possession of the property, in place of a mere option, I can go at the thing differently. First of all, when I go up Monday I'll see my engineer, and on Tuesday morning I'll bring him down here with me. Then I shall secure permission from the county to alter that road and we'll build the dam. That will cost very little in comparison to the whole improvement. Then, and not till then, I'll get out my stock prospectus, and I'll drive prospective investors down here to look at Lake Jo. I'll be almost in position to dictate terms." "Isn't that fine!" she exclaimed. "And then I suppose you can secure--control," she ventured anxiously. "Yes, I think I can if I want it," he assured her. "I'm so glad," she said gravely. "I'm so very glad." "Really, though, I have a big notion to see if I can't finance the entire project myself. I'm quite sure I can get Dickson to give me a clear deed to that land merely on my unsupported note. If I can do that I can erect all the buildings on progressive mortgages. Roadways and engineering work of course I'll have to pay for, and then I can finance a subsidiary operating company to rent the plant from the original company, and can retain stock in both of them. I'll figure that out both ways." It was all Greek to her, this talk, but she knitted her brows in an earnest effort to understand, and crowded close to him to look over the figures he was putting down. The touch of her arm against his own threw out his calculations entirely. He could not add a row of figures to save his life. "I'll go over the financial end of this later on," he said, but he did not put away the paper. He kept it there for them both to look at, touching arms. "All right," she agreed, "but you must let me see you do it. Of course I can't understand, but I do want to feel as if I were helping when it is done." "I won't take a step in it without consulting you or having you along," he promised. At that moment the bugle sounded the first call for luncheon. "You'll stay for luncheon," she invited. "Certainly," he assured her. "You couldn't drive me away." "Very well, right after luncheon let's go out and look at the place again. It will look different now that it is--" She caught herself. She had almost said "now that it is ours." "Now that it is secured," she finished.