t had attracted attention. A comparative quiet followed, the
guests following the letters with their eyes as they were passed around
the table. They fancied that Annixter had arranged a surprise.

Magnus Derrick, who sat next to Annixter, was the first to receive his
letter. With a word of excuse he opened it.

"Read it, read it, Governor," shouted a half-dozen voices. "No secrets,
you know. Everything above board here to-night."

Magnus cast a glance at the contents of the letter, then rose to his
feet and read:

Magnus Derrick,
Bonneville, Tulare Co., Cal.

Dear Sir:

By regrade of October 1st, the value of the railroad land you
occupy, included in your ranch of Los Muertos, has been fixed at
$27.00 per acre. The land is now for sale at that price to any
one.

Yours, etc.,
CYRUS BLAKELEE RUGGLES,
Land Agent, P. and S. W. R. R.

S. BEHRMAN,
Local Agent, P. and S. W. R. R.

In the midst of the profound silence that followed, Osterman was heard
to exclaim grimly:

"THAT'S a pretty good one. Tell us another."

But for a long moment this was the only remark.

The silence widened, broken only by the sound of torn paper as Annixter,
Osterman, old Broderson, Garnett, Keast, Gethings, Chattern, and Dabney
opened and read their letters. They were all to the same effect, almost
word for word like the Governor's. Only the figures and the proper names
varied. In some cases the price per acre was twenty-two dollars. In
Annixter's case it was thirty.

"And--and the company promised to sell to me, to--to all of us," gasped
old Broderson, "at TWO DOLLARS AND A HALF an acre."

It was not alone the ranchers immediately around Bonneville who would
be plundered by this move on the part of the Railroad. The "alternate
section" system applied throughout all the San Joaquin. By striking at
the Bonneville ranchers a terrible precedent was established. Of
the crowd of guests in the harness room alone, nearly every man was
affected, every man menaced with ruin. All of a million acres was
suddenly involved.

Then suddenly the tempest burst. A dozen men were on their feet in an
instant, their teeth set, their fists clenched, their faces purple with
rage. Oaths, curses, maledictions exploded like the firing of successive
mines. Voices quivered with wrath, hands flung