"I understand there is. My husband told me that there is an abundance, and I always had confidence in his judgment. But many people thought he was visionary, and in some unaccountable way they considered his mine a joke."
"What a shame!" Jess declared. "They knew the coal was there, though, didn't they?"
"Oh, yes. But, you see, my husband did not have the capital to develop the mine, and people of means were unwilling to have anything to do with the undertaking, owing to the difficulty of getting the coal to the market. My husband always planned to have a little railway built into the lake. He knew that it could be done, for he had a route surveyed at his own expense. But that took the last cent, so there was nothing left for further development. I really believe the failure of his plans hastened his death."
"And would no one lend him money?" Jess asked. "Why didn't he come to my father? He has plenty of money, and so has mother."
"Your father was appealed to time and time again, but he would do nothing unless my husband sold out his entire right to the mine for a small sum, which, of course, he refused to do."
"And is my father like that in business?" The girl's eyes were wide with surprise.
"We found him so, at any rate. But come, dear, let us not talk any more about this. It is a very painful subject to me, and I did not intend to bother you with my troubles."
They continued their walk along the shore, around the lower end of the island, and up the opposite side.
"I believe we are going to have rain before long," Mrs. Hampton remarked, as she paused and looked at the sky. "I did not notice it before."
"What a black cloud that is over there," Jess replied. "Why, it looks like smoke."