Brand is the manager
of the works, and if anybody knows the value of the mineral, he ought to
be the man.'
'Nevertheless,' said Kenyon, 'he is mistaken.'
'That is just the point of the whole matter--is he? The mineral is either
valueless, as he says, or he is telling a deliberate lie for some
particular purpose; and I can't see, for the life of me, why a stranger
should not only tell a falsehood, but write it on paper. Now, John, what
do you know about china manufacture?'
'I know very little indeed about it.'
'Very well, then, how can you put your knowledge against this man's, who
is a practical manufacturer?'
Kenyon looked at Wentworth, who was evidently not feeling in the best
of humours.
'Do you mean to say, George, that I do not know what I am talking about
when I tell you that this mineral is valuable for a certain purpose?'
'Well, you have just admitted that you know nothing about the china
trade.'
'Not "nothing," George--I know something about it; but what I do
understand is the value of minerals. The reason I know anything at all
about china manufacture is simply because I learned that this mineral is
one of the most important components of china.'
'Then why did that man write such a letter?'
'I'm sure I don't know. As you saw the man, you can judge better than I
whether he would tell a deliberate falsehood, or whether he was merely
ignorant.'
'I didn't see Brand at all; I saw Melville. Melville was to submit this
mineral to Brand, and let me know what he thought about it.
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