he description of the land as soon as the
survey maps was out, and he offered to sell the location for five
thousand dollars. He had samples of the ore, and it run rich, and it
_is_ rich, richest in this state, I'm here to tell you, gentlemen.

"But Jerry wouldn't give him no five thousand for what he knew. So Hun
he got some other fellers on the string, and him and me was partners on
the deal and was goin' to split even on account of some things I knew
and was to keep under my katy.

"Well, Hun sold the figgers of that land to Jerry for five hundred
dollars in the end, and he sold it to them other fellers for the same.
When it come out that you was Number One, Doc--and us fellers knew that
in the morning of the day of the drawin', for we had it fixed with
Mong--Hun he tells Jerry that you'll never sell out for no reasonable
price.

"'We'll have to soak that feller,' he says, 'and git him out of the
way.' Jerry he agreed to it, and they had men out after you all that day
and night, but they didn't git a chance at you. Then you walked right
into old Hun's hand. Funny!" commented Ten-Gallon stopping there to
breathe.

"Very!" said the doctor, putting his hand to the tender scar on his
forehead.

He pushed back his hat and turned to the Governor.

"Very funny!" said he.

"Of course, Jerry, he was winded some when you put in your bill there
ahead of him and Peterson that morning and filed on the claim he had it
all framed up to locate the Swede feller on. Jerry telephoned over to
Comanche and found out from Shanklin how you got the numbers, and then
he laid out to start a fire under you and git you off. Well, he done it,
didn't he?"

Ten-Gallon leered up at Slavens with some of his old malevolence and
official hauteur in his puffy face.

"Go on with your story, and be careful what charges you lay against my
son!" commanded the Governor sharply.

Ten-Gallon was not particularly squelched or abashed by the rebuke. He
winked at Agnes as if to express a feeling of secret fellowship which he
held for her on account of things which both of them might reveal if
they saw fit.

"Shanklin, he closed up his game in Comanche three or four days ago and
went over to Meander," Ten-Gallon resumed. "He never had split with me
on that money he got for the numbers of this claim out of Jerry and that
other crowd. So I follered him. Yesterday morning, you know, the land
left over from locatin' them that had drawed claims was thro