“Very well,” said Houston, “I will be up early and will see that one of the six-horse teams is at the Y to meet him, and I can get through at the mines in season to be at the office by the time he will reach there; he probably will not get up before noon, with all that load.”
Happening to glance toward Lyle, as Haight withdrew, Houston read in her eyes, in their look of eager expectancy, and the firm determination expressed in her face, that she fully understood the meaning of what had passed.
It was equally evident that Miss Gladden had received no hint of the situation, for at almost the same instant she inquired:
“Is Mr. Van Dorn going to erect one of his reducing machines here?”
Houston answered in the affirmative.
“He will be likely to remain here some time, then, will he not?”
“In all probability,” Houston replied, “it must take considerable time to get one of those machines in perfect running order.”
“Then of course he will be here when Mr. Rutherford returns, with his brother; they were all such intimate friends, it will be pleasant for them to meet here. But I am surprised,” she added, “that he is bringing one of his machines such a distance as this.”
“Why so?” inquired Houston.
“Because, Mr. Winters told me that although the amalgamator was undoubtedly a valuable invention, and would prove a great success in a mining country, Van Dorn was too indolent to even try to introduce it among mining men, as it would require too much exertion on his part.”