You are presumably an Englishman ?" The other man laughed a little.

"Yes," he said, "I'm Charles Seaforth, better known to the boys here as the Honourable Charley, though I have no especial right to the title, and am fortunate in holding a small share in the Somasco ranch, which I owe to my partner's generosity." "Do I understand that he gave it you ?" said Deringham.
Seaforth nodded.

"You would be near the mark if you came to that conclusion." "And is Mr.Alton in the habit of making similar presents ?" said Deringham.
Seaforth glanced towards the sinewy figure with the glinting axe, and smiled again.

"That," he said quietly, "is one of the most generous men in the Dominion of Canada, but I should not care to be the man who attempted to take advantage of him." Deringham said nothing further, though he was sensible of a slight uneasiness, and presently went back to the house to rejoin his daughter, while the dusk was creeping across the valley when the men from the sawmill and clearing came home, and Deringham led his daughter out when he heard Alton's voice in the verandah.

The latter and his partner were together, and the girl at first felt a slight sense of relief as her glance fell upon Seaforth, who stood with his wide hat in his hand.