"Ask advice of a boy of sixteen!" he sneered. "Surely you are better able to judge what is best than he."
"I am not sure about that. At any rate he is interested, and I prefer to wait till I see him."
"Then the offer of a hundred dollars is withdrawn."
"Just as you think best, Solon. I shall not sign without consulting Mark."
"Well, I will leave the paper, then," said Talbot, finding it hard to conceal his chagrin. "I hope for your sake that Mark will advise you sensibly."
"I think he will. He is young, but he has always shown good judgment."
"Confound the woman!" muttered Talbot, as he left the house. "It is most provoking to have her act in this way. Should she hear of the Golden Hope mine it would be most disastrous. Once let me obtain her release and I can sell it out for my own advantage."
CHAPTER XXII.
A CRAFTY SCHEMER.
"Your uncle has been here, Mark," said Mrs. Mason, when Mark reached home.
"I can tell you what business he came about, mother."