The square log-house which stood some little distance from the lake looked well built and substantial, and the road that wound through the green oblong had been skilfully laid with rounded strips sawn off the great fir-trunks.

Sleek cattle stood apparently ready for dispatch in a corral, the yellowing oats beyond them were railed off by a six-foot fence, and behind the rows of sawn-off stumps which ringed about the clearing great trunks and branches lay piled in the confusion of the slashing.

Deringham was not a farmer, but he was a man of affairs, and all he saw spoke to him of prosperity that sprang from strenuous energy and administrative ability.
"You are very silent," said his daughter.

"What are you thinking ?" Deringham laughed a little, somewhat mirthlessly.

"It occurs to me that whatever our unknown relative may be he is a good rancher, if this is his handiwork," he said.