“That is the price.  You are to take your people with you.  Graham has his own.”

Alan tried to laugh.  “I think I see the point—­now.  He isn’t paying five hundred thousand for Miss Standish—­I mean Mrs. Graham.  He’s paying it for the isolation.”

“Exactly.  It was a last-minute hunch with him—­to settle the matter peaceably.  We started up here to get his wife.  You understand, to get her, and settle the matter with you in a different way from the one we’re using now.  You hit the word when you said ‘isolation.’  What a damn fool a man can make of himself over a pretty face!  Think of it—­half a million dollars!”

“It sounds unreal,” mused Alan, keeping his face to the window.  “Why should he offer so much?”

“You must keep the stipulation in mind, Holt.  That is an important part of the deal.  You are to keep your mouth shut.  Buying the range at a normal price wouldn’t guarantee it.  But when you accept a sum like that, you’re a partner in the other end of the transaction, and your health depends upon keeping the matter quiet.  Simple enough, isn’t it?”

Alan turned back to the table.  His face was pale.  He tried to keep smoke in front of his eyes.  “Of course, I don’t suppose he’d allow Mrs. Graham to escape back to the States—­where she might do a little upsetting on her own account?”

“He isn’t throwing the money away,” replied Rossland significantly.

“She would remain here indefinitely?”

“Indefinitely.”

“Probably never would return.”

“Strange how squarely you hit the nail on the head!  Why should she return?  The world believes she is dead.  Papers were full of it.  The little secret of her being alive is all our own.  And this will be a beautiful summering place for Graham.  Magnificent climate.  Lovely flowers.  Birds.  And the girl he has watched grow up, and wanted, since she was fourteen.”

“And who hates him.”

“True.”

“Who was tricked into marrying him, and who would rather die than live with him as his wife.”

“But it’s up to Graham to keep her alive, Holt.  That’s not our business.  If she dies, I imagine you will have an opportunity to get your range back pretty cheap.”

Rossland held a paper out to Alan.

“Here’s partial payment—­two hundred and fifty thousand.  I have the papers here, on the desk, ready to sign.  As soon as you give possession, I’ll return to Tanana with you and make the remaining payment.”

Alan took the check.  “I guess only a fool would refuse an offer like this, Rossland.”

“Yes, only a fool.”

“And I am that fool.”

So quietly did Alan speak that for an instant the significance of his words did not fall with full force upon Rossland.  The smoke cleared away from before Alan’s face.  His cigar dropped to the floor, and he stepped on it with his foot.  The check followed it in torn scraps.  The fury he had held back with almost superhuman effort blazed in his eyes.