nergy. "The matter
described happened so long ago that she won't probably attach as much
importance to it as we've imagined she would. I'll ask her to bring it
to me to see--and that will be all that's necessary, once it's in my
fingers."

"And what about him?" Burkhardt asked, striking the floor with his
heel.

"Just leave him there for the present. To-morrow we'll have another
talk with him," the cattleman stated. "Better offer him a couple of
thousand to go to another state; he'll grab at the chance, I fancy.
Money heals most wounds. But, Vorse, keep your cellar locked and the
bartender away from it. We can start Martinez away sometime
to-morrow."

"Don't know about that. To-morrow night will be our busy night," the
ex-sheriff said.

"We might let Gordon handle him," Vorse suggested.

"I thought perhaps you intended to keep the Judge in ignorance of this
Martinez matter. He seems to be getting sort of feeble."

"He's not too feeble to take his share of the unpleasant jobs along
with the rest of us," Vorse answered, unfeelingly. "I shall have him
in here first thing in the morning and tell him what's happened and
what we've done and what he has to do."

"Sure," said Burkhardt.

"Well, that's agreeable to me," Sorenson stated, looking at his watch
and rising: "Time we were turning in, if there's nothing more."

* * * * *

At the dam camp Meyers, the assistant chief engineer, and Atkinson,
the superintendent, were still awake, smoking and talking in the
office.

"I smelt enough booze on those fellows who came stringing in here to
fill the reservoir," the latter was saying. "Some one's feeding it to
them."

"Nobody drunk, though."

"No. But who's giving it to them and why? I asked one fellow and he
said he'd been to a birthday party, and wouldn't tell where. They were
all feeling pretty lush, even if they weren't soused. And to-morrow's
Sunday!"

"They'll all be idle, you mean?"

"Sure. If there's more liquor, they'll be after it. All day to drink
in means a big celebration. The whiskey is sent up from town, of
course, and I reckon sent just at this time to get us all in bad while
Mr. Pollock's here."

"We'll look up the bootlegging nest to-morrow," Meyers said, with
finality.

"What can we do if we do locate it? They're not selling the stuff, I
judge, but giving it away. That clears their skirts and forces us to
deal with the men themselves if there's a