ay thirty years previous. Nor for that matter
were they strange to Johnson and his daughter, though of course
neither Janet nor her father were aware of the rancher's more intimate
knowledge of the subject.

"A pretty good story as far as it goes, but like all lawyers' papers
long-winded," Johnson stated, critically.

"What do you mean, far as it goes?" Janet asked, curiously. "Did you
know this old Mexican? Did you ever hear him tell about the thing?"

"I knew he was there at the time, but he never told me anything."

Here Dr. Hosmer spoke.

"Saurez died yesterday. It must have been shortly after he made this
deposition. He died in Vorse's saloon, which gives a color of
suspicion to his death. In addition, Martinez, as you know, was
dragged away somewhere."

"Then Vorse learned old Saurez had blabbed, and killed him," Johnson
said, in a convinced tone. "Vorse is a bad bird, I want to say. But so
are all of them, Sorenson, Burkhardt and Judge Gordon as well."

Janet brought the talk back to the subject.

"You make me still wonder, Mr. Johnson," she said. "You seemed to
think there's more to the account than is told in this paper."

Again the rancher and his daughter glanced at each other, hesitatingly.

"Tell them, father," Mary broke forth all at once. "They know this
much, and you know you can trust them."

The man, however, shook his head with a certain dogged purpose.

"If this is just a paper in some trifling lawsuit or other, it will be
better if I keep my own counsel," he stated. "I've riled Sorenson
considerable as it is now, and I don't care particularly about having
him gunning on my trail active-like. If it really mattered----"

"It does matter; it matters everything," Janet cried, "if you really
know something more!"

"Why?"

"Because it concerns Mr. Weir. The Joseph Weir described and named in
this affidavit was his father. He believes these men robbed his
father; this paper proves it, but not absolutely, for Mexican evidence
here in this country doesn't carry as much weight against white
men--especially men as rich and strong as these named--as it would in
other places perhaps. You know that. This paper was obtained for Mr.
Weir."

"Oho, so that's the way of it!" Johnson said, with a long drawn-out
tone.

He regarded the paper in silence for a time, busy with his thoughts,
absently twisting his beard, until at length a look of satisfaction
grew on his face.

"Well, well, this is fin