"Horsfield's in favor of the scheme. How far would you trust that man?"
"About as far as I could fling a bull by the tail. The same thing applies to both of them."
"He has some influence. No doubt he'd find supporters."
Nairn saw that the meaning of his last remark, which implied that he had no more confidence in Jessy than he had in her brother, had not been grasped by his companion, but he did not consider it judicious to make it plainer. Instead, he gave Vane another piece of information.
"He and Winter work into each other's hands."
"But Winter has no interest in the Clermont!"
Nairn smiled sourly.
"He holds no shares in the mine; but there's no much in the shape of mineral developments yon man has no an interest in. Since ye do no seem inclined to yield Horsfield a point or two, it might pay ye to watch the pair of them."
Vane was aware that Winter was a person of some importance in financial circles, and he sat thoughtfully silent for a couple of minutes.
"Now," he explained at length, "every dollar we have in the Clermont is usefully employed and earning a satisfactory profit. Of course, if we put the concern on the market, we might get more than it is worth from investors; but that doesn't greatly appeal to me."