“You have been misled,” Keith said coldly, in reply to a question.  “I desire to know the authority for your statement.”

“I must decline,” was the reply.  “I think I may say that it is an authority which is unimpeachable.  You observe that it is one who knows what he is speaking of?” He gave a half-glance about him at his colleagues.

“A spy?” demanded Keith, coldly, his eye fixed on the other.

“No, sir.  A man of position, a man whose sources of knowledge even you would not question.  Why, this has been charged in the public prints without denial!” he added triumphantly.

“It has been charged in one paper,” said Keith, “a paper which every one knows is for sale and has been bought—­by your rival.”

“It is based not only on the statement of the person to whom I have alluded, but is corroborated by others.”

“By what others?” inquired Keith.

“By another,” corrected Mr. Kestrel.

“That only proves that there are two men who are liars,” said Keith, slowly.  “I know but two men who I believe would have been guilty of such barefaced and brazen falsehoods.  Shall I name them?”

“If you choose.”

“They are F.C.  Wickersham and a hireling of his, Mr. J. Quincy Plume.”

There was a stir among the directors.  Keith had named both men.  It was a fortunate shot.

“By Jove!  Brought down a bird with each barrel,” said Mr. Yorke, who was one of the directors, to another in an undertone.

Keith proceeded to give the history of the mine and of its rival mine, the Wickersham property.

During the cross-examination Norman sat a silent witness.  Beyond a look of satisfaction when Keith made his points clearly or countered on his antagonist with some unanswerable fact, he had taken no part in the colloquy.  Up to this time Keith had not referred to him or even looked at him, but he glanced at him now, and the expression on his face decided Keith.

“Mr. Wentworth, there, knows the facts.  He knows F.C.  Wickersham as well as I do, and he has been on the ground.”

There was a look of surprise on the face of nearly every one present.  How could he dare to say it!

“Oh, I guess we all know him,” said one, to relieve the tension.

Norman bowed his assent.

Mr. Kestrel shifted his position.

“Never mind Mr. Wentworth; it’s your part in the transaction that we are after,” he said insolently.

The blood rushed to Keith’s face; but a barely perceptible glance from Norman helped him to hold himself in check.  The director glanced down at the newspaper.

“How about that accident in our mine?  Some of us have thought that it was carelessness on the part of the local management.  It has been charged that proper inspection would have indicated that the flooding of an adjacent mine should have given warning; in fact, had given warning.”  He half glanced around at his associates, and then fastened his eyes on Keith.