supposed to have lost in
the smashing of the firm?" murmured Helen. "Do--do you think he was paid
twice--that he got money from both Grimes and father?"

"We'll prove that by Grimes," said the fledgling lawyer who, in time, was
likely to prove himself a successful one indeed.

He sent for Mr. Grimes to come to see him on important business. When the
money-lender arrived, Dud got him into a corner immediately, showed the
affidavit, and hinted that Starkweather had divulged something.

Immediately Grimes accused Helen's uncle of exactly the part in the crime
Dud had suspected him of committing. After the affair blew over and Grimes
had set up in business, Starkweather had come to him and threatened to
tell certain things which he knew, and others that he suspected, unless he
was given the money he had originally invested in the firm of Grimes &
Morrell.

"I shut his mouth. That's all he took--his rightful share; but I've got
his receipts, and I can make it look bad for him. And I _will_ make it
look bad for that old stiff-and-starched hypocrite if he lets me be driven
to the wall."

This defiance of Fenwick Grimes closed the case as far as any legal
proceedings were concerned. The matter of recovering the money from Grimes
would have to be tried in the civil courts. All the creditors of the firm
were satisfied. To get Grimes indicted for his old crime would be a
difficult matter in New York County.

"But you have the whip hand," Dud Stone told the girl from Sunset Ranch
again. "If you want satisfaction, you can spread the story broadcast by
means of the newspapers, and you will involve Starkweather in it just as
much as you will Grimes. And between you and me, Helen, I think Willets
Starkweather richly deserves just that punishment."

CHAPTER XXX

HEADED WEST

Just at this time Helen Morrell wasn't thinking at all about wreaking
vengeance upon those who might have ill-treated her when she was alone in
the great city. Instead, her heart was made very tender by the delightful
things that were being done for her by those who loved and admired the
sturdy little girl from Sunset Ranch.

In the first place, Jess and Dud Stone, and their cousins, gave Helen
every chance possible to see the pleasanter side of city life. She had
gone shopping with the girls and bought frocks and hats galore. Indeed,
she had had to telegraph to Big Hen for more money. She got the money; but
likewise she received the following l