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 another, and the two young men were naturally thrown together a great deal.

At Mrs. De Vere's earnest solicitation, Hernando shared Elisha's room—the one which had been Granny's. One year of unparalleled prosperity in this locality had rolled by. The output from the mine had been such as to stir the hearts of all true miners. Nootwyck would soon be incorporated as a city, and Mills's doubts in regard to the wisdom of a branch to meet the Ulster and Delaware at Big Indian were unheeded. In fact the road was already under way and the stock sold. People went wild with excitement. Mills smiled urbanely but said nothing. Elisha, as chief engineer, was in his element and his work bespoke intimate acquaintance with and mastery of the intricacies of railway engineering.

It was Saturday night in the last of March. The air was full of snow; that kind which falls in such minute flakes that one is sure of plenty more in reserve. Elisha and Hernando were squaring the week's accounts in their room