This conversation took place as the two remained by the landing after watching John disappear among the trees on the opposite shore.  At length they went back to the house, and busied themselves with washing the breakfast dishes, and tidying up the rooms.  When this was at last finished, they again went out of doors, and strolled along the shore on the other side of the island.  From here Mrs. Hampton pointed out the mine on the mainland, partly concealed among the trees.

“My husband spent much of his time here,” she explained, “and hoped that some day the mine would be properly worked.  But there doesn’t seem to be much chance now of anything being done.  The place is becoming overrun with bushes, so John says.”

“Is there plenty of coal?” the girl asked, as she looked across the water.

“I understand there is.  My husband told me that there is an abundance, and I always had confidence in his judgment.  But many people thought he was visionary, and in some unaccountable way they considered his mine a joke.”

“What a shame!” Jess declared.  “They knew the coal was there, though, didn’t they?”

“Oh, yes.  But, you see, my husband did not have the capital to develop the mine, and people of means were unwilling to have anything to do with the undertaking, owing to the difficulty of getting the coal to the market.  My husband always planned to have a little railway built into the lake.  He knew that it could be done, for he had a route surveyed at his own expense.  But that took the last cent, so there was nothing left for further development.  I really believe the failure of his plans hastened his death.”

“And would no one lend him money?” Jess asked.  “Why didn’t he come to my father?  He has plenty of money, and so has mother.”

“Your father was appealed to time and time again, but he would do nothing unless my husband sold out his entire right to the mine for a small sum, which, of course, he refused to do.”

“And is my father like that in business?” The girl’s eyes were wide with surprise.

“We found him so, at any rate.  But come, dear, let us not talk any more about this.  It is a very painful subject to me, and I did not intend to bother you with my troubles.”

They continued their walk along the shore, around the lower end of the island, and up the opposite side.

“I believe we are going to have rain before long,” Mrs. Hampton remarked, as she paused and looked at the sky.  “I did not notice it before.”

“What a black cloud that is over there,” Jess replied.  “Why, it looks like smoke.”

Mrs. Hampton turned, and as she did so, she gave a cry of dismay, and laid her right hand impulsively upon her companion’s arm.

“It is smoke!  And the wind is blowing it this way!  See how it is rolling toward us.  Someone has started a big fire over there, and it may do a great deal of damage, as everything is so dry.”