Over in the Picket Post Mountains, if you please, I have
seen misty island-like protuberances, resembling greatly the
post-pliocene crannoges of the Roscommon loughs. Now--"

"Call off the dog, professor," interrupted Heppner. "I'm a government
agent, and I'm here on business. See? You didn't know you'd jumped a
mining claim belonging to McGurvin, but such is the fact. This will have
to be straightened out, or the responsibility will rest heavily upon
you. Now, speaking personal, I'd hate a heap to see you sent to jail,
seeing as how you're in this country for your health. Jails ain't a
health resort, by any manner of means. What do you propose to do about
this?"

"Dear me!" murmured Borrodaile, taking off his hat and rubbing the top
of his bald head. "I am not dishonest, gentlemen. I assure you that I
want only to do what's right. The claim I located was discovered by my
nephew; and I am his next of kin. I supposed, you understand, that it
was rightfully mine."

"Sure," answered the bogus government agent heartily, "I can see right
where you made your mistake. How could you know that, in the years that
followed your nephew's discovery, the claim was located again by
McGurvin, there? When did you locate it, Mac?" he asked, turning on the
rancher.

"Night onto two year ago," asserted McGurvin solemnly.

"There you are!" exclaimed Heppner triumphantly. "McGurvin has done the
assessment work, so it belonged to him. And you jumped it. State's
prison offense, professor."

The professor shuddered.

"I didn't intend to do any wrong," he answered.

"Ignorance of the law," expounded Heppner, "excuses no one. Still,
speaking personal, I'm here to let you off light. You've had a lot of
trouble in this matter, and McGurvin is willing to give you a hundred
dollars for that. You will have to sign a quitclaim deed, though, so as
to clear up the title. I call that," beamed Heppner, "mighty generous."

"A heap more'n I ort ter do," said McGurvin, in a burst of frankness.

"More'n I'd do, Mac," said one of the two others.

"Ye know, Sam," whimpered the rancher, "I allers was troubled with
enlargement of the heart, I reckon, someday, it'll be the ruination o'
me. Ain't that so, Turkeyfoot?"

"Not as nobody can notice," replied the other bystander. "All I wants is
to see the perfesser git his rights. I was totin' his stuff ter town,
an' I'm in his pay. I stick fer the hunderd, an' you can whine all ye
darn please."

"Mr.