of money into the Through Line of freight cars, but he
had done so with an eye single to his own advantage, with no thought of
anything but dividends. He had contemptuously called Duncan "a rainbow
chaser," because that young man had spoken with some enthusiasm of the
benefits which the cheapening of freight rates must bring to the people
East and West.

"Well, he has a mighty good knack of catching his rainbows, anyhow,"
answered Hallam; "and you'd better not let the idea get away with you
that he isn't a force to be reckoned with. He's young yet, and very new
to business, but you remember it was he who first suggested the Through
Line, and worked it out."

In brief, Napper Tandy was a very greedy money-getter, and nothing else.
He hated Hallam with all that he had of heart, because Hallam was his
superior in the conduct of affairs, and because Hallam had so badly
beaten him in every case of competitive effort, and perhaps because of
some other things.

On his part, Will Hallam, without hating, cordially detested the man
whom he had thus beaten and made afraid.

Nevertheless, these two never quarreled. Each of them was too worldly
wise to make an open breach with one whose co-operation in great affairs
he might at any time need.

"I never quarrel with a man," said Hallam to Duncan, by way of
explaining the situation. "I never quarrel with a man till he is in the
poor-house. So long as he's at large I may need him any day. It doesn't
pay for a man to cut off his own fingers."

So between these two there was always an outward semblance of peace,
even when war was on between them, and it frequently happened that they
were closely associated in enterprises too large for either to conduct
so well alone.

On the night of the ball, Hallam took Duncan aside and said to him:

"I wish you'd take the seven o'clock train this morning and go up to the
mines for a few days. Everything there seems to be at sixes and sevens.
I can't make head or tail out of it all. All I know is that the
confounded mine is losing a good many thousands of my dollars every
month. I want you to go up and make a thorough investigation. If you
can't find a way out I'll shut up the hole in the ground and quit."

Captain Hallam knew, of course, that Duncan could not get much sleep
that night, but he had long ago learned that Guilford Duncan utterly
disregarded personal comfort whenever duty called, and so he had no
hesitation in thus ordering his