g into the inner
consciousness of my old prospector. And that isn't all. After he had got
the story of the timber stealing out of the old man, he tried to bribe
him not to tell it to any one else; tried the bribe first and a scare
afterward--told him that something would happen to him if he didn't keep
a still tongue in his head."

Lidgerwood shook his head slowly. "That looks pretty bad. Why should he
want to silence the old man?"

"That's just what I've been asking myself. But right on the heels of
that, another little mystery developed. Hallock asked the old man if he
would be willing to swear in court to the truth of his story. The old
man said he would."

"Well?" said Lidgerwood.

"A night or two later the old prospector's shack burned down, and the
next morning he found a notice pinned to a tree near one of his
sluice-boxes. It was a polite invitation for him to put distance between
him and the Timanyoni district. I suppose you can put two and two
together, as I did."

Again Lidgerwood said: "It looks pretty bad for Hallock. No one but the
thieves themselves could have any possible reason for driving the old
man out of the country. Did he go?"

"Not much; he isn't built that way. That same day he went to work
building him a new shack; and he swears that the next man who gets near
enough to set it afire won't live to get away and brag about it. Two
days afterward Hallock showed up again, and the old fellow ran him off
with a gun."

Just then the bridge-foreman came up to say that the timbers were in
place, and Benson swung off to give Lidgerwood's engineer instructions
to run carefully. As the service-car platform came along, Lidgerwood
leaned over the railing for a final word with Benson. "Keep in touch
with your old man, and tell him to count on us for protection," he said;
and Benson nodded acquiescence as the one-car train crept out upon the
dismantled bridge.

Having an appointment with Leckhard, of the main line, timed for an
early hour the following morning, Lidgerwood gave his conductor
instructions to stop at Angels only long enough to get orders for the
eastern division.

When the division station was reached, McCloskey met the service-car in
accordance with wire instructions sent from Timanyoni, bringing an
armful of mail, which Lidgerwood purposed to work through on the run to
Copah.

"Nothing new, Mac?" he asked, when the trainmaster came aboard.

"Nothing much, only the operators have