“Then,” returned Nasmyth, “why do you want me to go?”
It was difficult to answer, and, to begin with, Laura did not exactly know she desired him to leave the ranch––in fact, she was willing to admit that there were several reasons why she wished him to stay. Still, perhaps because she had watched over him in his sickness, and, so Gordon said, had snatched him back to life again, she had a certain pride in him, and vaguely felt that. In one sense, he belonged to her. She would not have him throw away the life she had saved, and she had recognized, as many of his English friends had not, the perilously acquiescent side of his character. He was, she feared, one who had an unfortunate aptitude for drifting.
“That,” she said, “is rather more than I could explain either to myself or to you, but I will tell you something. They are going to build the pulp-mill down the valley, and they are now asking for tenders for the construction of the dam. The thing, I have heard, is not big enough to interest contractors from the cities, and most of the men round here have their hands full with their ranches.”
Nasmyth became a trifle more intent. “Still,” he remarked, “I have never built a dam.”
“You told me you were rather a good chopper, and I think you are. You have made roads, too, and know how to handle giant-powder in the rock-cutting, and how to use the drill.”
“There are shoals of men in this country who know considerably more about those things than I do.”
Laura made a little impatient gesture. “Yes,” she admitted, “there are, but they are simple Bushmen for the most part; and does intellect count for nothing at all? Are a trained understanding and a quick comprehension of no use when one builds a dam?”
Nasmyth frowned, though she saw a little glow kindle in his eyes. “I’m by no means sure that I possess any of those desirable qualities. Besides, there’s a rather serious objection––that of finance.”
Then Laura Waynefleet made it clear that she had considered the question, and she favoured the man with a glimpse of the practical side of her character.