its activities in the north-land, and he seemed perfectly willing
to talk. Surely from him she would get information that would
count.

"Understand, I'm on the side of your enemies," she warned him.

"So is everybody else," Mr. Trevor laughed; "but that's because
we're misunderstood."

"The intentions of any Trust warrant suspicion."

He shrugged. "The Heidlemanns are just ordinary business men,
like O'Neil, looking for investment. They heard of a great big
copper-field hidden away back yonder in the mountains, and they
bought what they considered to be the best group of claims. They
knew the region was difficult of access, but they figured that a
railroad from tide-water would open up not only their own
properties, but the rest of the copper-belt and the whole
interior country. They began to build a road from Cortez, when
some 'shoe-stringer' raised the cry that they had monopolized the
world's greatest copper supply, and had double-cinched it by
monopolizing transportation also. That started the fuss. They
needed cheap coal, of course, just as everybody else needs it;
but somebody discovered the danger of a monopoly of that and set
up another shout. Ever since then the yellow press has been
screaming. The Government withdrew all coal-lands from entry, and
it now refuses to grant patents to that which had been properly
located. We don't own a foot of Alaskan coal-land, Miss Appleton.
On the contrary, we haul our fuel from British Columbia, just
like O'Neil and Gordon. Those who would like to sell local coal