She pursed her lips at him. "You know very well, or you ought to know, that Dan wouldn't tell me a thing while he's working for you. He hasn't said a word, but—Is that why you came in frowning like a thunder-cloud? Did you think he set me on your trail?"
"I think I do know that he wouldn't do anything really indiscreet." Murray regarded her with growing favor. There was something about this boyish girl which awakened the same spontaneous liking he had felt upon his first meeting with her brother. He surprised her by confessing boldly:
"I AM building a railroad—to the interior of Alaska. I've been east and raised the money, my men are here; we'll begin operations at once."
"That's what Mr. Gordon told me about his scheme, but he hasn't done much, so far."
"My line will put his out of business, also that of the Trust, and the various wildcat promoters."
"Where does your road start from?"
"The town of Omar, on King Phillip Sound, near Hope and Cortez. It will run up the Salmon River and past the glaciers which those other men refused to tackle."
"If I weep, it is for joy," said the girl. "I don't like Curtis Gordon. I call him Simon Legree."
"Why?"
"Well, he impresses me as a real old-time villain—with the riding-boots and the whip and all that. 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' is my favorite play, it's so funny. This is a big story you've given me, Mr. O'Neil."