Wentworth, that he had no
particular idea of its utility. He seemed to know nothing about it, and
that's why he came here for information.'
Again the manager looked at the paper before him.
'I'm not so sure about that,' he said. 'He wants to know the quantity
used in a year, how much of it is consumed in England, and the price we
pay for it per ton. I should judge, from that, he has an inkling of its
value, and wants merely to corroborate it. Yes, I feel certain that is
his move. I fear nothing very much can be done with Mr. Wentworth.'
'What were you thinking of doing?'
'My dear Melville, if we could get hold of such a mine, supposing it has
an unlimited quantity of this mineral in it, we could control the china
markets of the world.'
'You don't mean it!'
'It's a fact, because of the purity of the mineral. The stuff that we use
is heavily impregnated with iron; we have to get the iron out of it, and
that costs money. Not that the stuff itself is uncommon at all, it is one
of the most common substances in Nature; but anything so pure as this I
have never seen. I wonder if it is a fair specimen of what they can get
out of the mine? If it is, I would rather own that property than any
gold-mine I know of.'
'Well, I will see Mr. Wentworth, if you like. He is going to call here
about this time to-morrow, and I will find out if some arrangement cannot
be made with him.'
'No, I wouldn't do that,' replied the manager, who preferred never to do
things in a direct way.
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