“What about them?”
“If you give up the manganese—what is Captain Saltren to do?”
“Stephen will find work somewhere, never fear.”
“But he cannot leave his house.”
“That he will have to sell; the railway company want to cross Chillacombe at that point. He will get a good price, far beyond the value of the house and plot of land.”
“Papa—must the manganese be given up?”
“Of course it must. I have no intention of allowing myself to be undermined.”
“But it is so cruel to the men who worked on it.”
“Manganese no longer pays for working. There has been a loss on the mine for the last five years. We are driven out of the market by the Eiffel manganese. The Germans work at less wage, and our men refuse to have their wage reduced.”
“But what are the miners to do?”