"And did his wife allow that?"
"She had very little to say. Her husband's will is law in that household."
"I am sorry for her. She deserved a better fate. As a girl she was good-hearted and had a cheerful disposition."
"She is greatly changed. I am afraid her husband has taught her to be selfish. She seemed to have little more consideration for me than Eben."
Rupert found that Mr. Packard was a cattle owner on a large scale. He had a great number of cowboys in his employ, over whom he exercised supervision.
"Is all your property in cattle, Giles?" asked his uncle.
"No. I have mining interests. The money I have made in the cattle business I have invested, at least partially, in mines and mining claims. I don't believe in having all my eggs in one basket."
"You seem to have done well in coming out West."
"Yes, when I came out here I probably was not worth over two thousand dollars all told. Now I am worth somewhere from seventy-five to one hundred thousand."