"Then if one struck high-grade paper spruce—a whole valley full of it—with water power and easy access to the sea, there ought to be money in the thing?"
"Yes," Vane answered with growing interest; "that strikes me as very probable."
"I believe I could put you on the track of such a valley."
Vane looked at him thoughtfully.
"We'd better understand each other. Do you want to sell me your knowledge? And have you offered it to anybody else?"
His companion answered with the candor he expected.
"Kitty and I aren't going to find it easy to get along—rents are high in this city. I want to give her as much as I can; but I'm willing to leave you to do the square thing. The Winstanley people have their hands full and won't look at any outside matter, and the one or two people I've spoken to don't seem anxious to consider it. It's mighty hard for a little man to launch a project."
"It is," Vane agreed sympathetically.
"Then," Drayton continued, "the idea's not my own. It was a mineral prospector—a relative of mine—who struck the valley on his last trip. He's an old man, and he came down played out and sick. Now I guess he's slowly dying." He paused a moment. "Would you like to see him?"
"I'll go with you now, if it's convenient," Vane replied.