"That's the way they go on all day long," said Whyte to Northmore, "just like two kittens."
"They are to be married shortly, are they not?"
"Yes, in six months. It's hardly fair to keep Reg waiting any longer. They've been engaged three years now."
"I am glad Reg is going to settle down, and with such an excellent partner."
"Yes, you're right, Northmore. I don't think a happier pair, or one more suited to each other could be found in a year's travel."
"Reg is a wonder, too. It is not every man who can boast of having made a fortune for himself at twenty-four."
"Ah, I intended asking you about that. He is so modest and reticent about himself. He says he did it by accident and could not help himself."
"Nothing of the kind, Whyte. He was left an orphan at fourteen in Adelaide and had only one relative, living at Dunedin in New Zealand, who sent for him there and procured him a post in a sharebroker's office as errand-boy. By dint of hard work he rose to be confidential clerk when he was twenty-three. It was then that the great event happened which made him. I remember it well. Reg had studied mineralogy thoroughly and was able to give a pretty accurate forecast of the capabilities of a mine, and he was often sent to report. One day he was ordered to 'Dagmar No. 2' and, on his return he gave a most promising account of it, in face of two experts who had reported it of no value. The experts were believed and the shares fell, but Reg, to show his confidence in his own opinion, bought all he could get at a low rate. His employers and his friends reasoned and argued with him, but to no avail. All his earnings and all he could raise, he invested in the mine. His employers were annoyed and he was dismissed. Nothing daunted, he went off to the mine and offered to manage it for nothing, telling the directors he would make it pay. They laughed at him, but finally gave way, especially as his holding was large enough to entitle him to a seat at the board. Two months later reports began to spread that Dagmar No. 2 had struck a rich lode, and a week later it was acknowledged to be one of the richest mines in New Zealand. Reg sold out for something like sixty thousand."
"Come this way," said Amy in a playful way, opening the door, and leading Reg by the ear. He was carrying a tray of glasses and completely at her mercy. "This is how I intend to lead my husband."
"Amy, I'm shocked," said Mrs. Whyte, laughing heartily.