She had, with the help of her map, followed Strange's journeys, and his letters showed where the silver was not to be found, which eliminated large belts of country.

Then if Stormont knew much about mining and was accustomed to negotiate the sale of claims, his curiosity implied that her father's belief in the lode was well grounded.

This was encouraging, but the man was a stranger and she felt a vague distrust.
"The person who finds a vein of ore and files his record is registered as its owner when he has complied with the legal formalities," she said.
"That is so," Stormont agreed with a smile.

"You feel that if you parted with the letters, you would run some risk of losing the claim?
Well, one must trust one's agent to some extent, and I'll make you two propositions.

You can give me all the information you have about the ore, and, if I think it worth while, I will bear the cost of prospecting and development, and give you a large share of the profits when the mine is worked.