he's mean. I don't know how bad he is. But he runs a rotten
dump. The forest has its slums as well as the city. This is the Hell's
Kitchen of the North Woods."

Stormont nodded.

"All the scum of the wilderness gathers here," went on Lannis. "Here's
where half the trouble in the North Woods hatches. We'll eat dinner at
Clinch's. His stepdaughter is a peach."

The sturdy, sun-browned trooper glanced at his wrist watch, stretched
his legs in his stirrups.

"Jack," he said, "I want you to get Clinch right, and I'm going to tell
you about his outfit while we watch this road. It's like a movie.
Clinch plays the lead. I'll dope out the scenario for you----"

He turned sideways in his saddle, freeing both spurred heels and lolled
so, constructing a cigarette while he talked:

"Way back around 1900 Mike Clinch was a guide -- a decent young fellow
they say. He guided fishing parties in summer, hunters in fall and
winter. He made money and built the house. The people he guided were
wealthy. He made a lot of money and bought land. I understand he was
square and that everybody liked him.

"About that time there came to Clinch's `hotel' a Mr. and Mrs. Strayer.
They were `lungers.' Strayer seemed to be a gentleman; his wife was
good looking and rather common. Both were very young. He had the
consump bad -- the galloping variety. He didn't last long. A month
after he died his young wife had a baby. Clinch married her. She also
died the same year. The baby's name was Eve. Clinch became quite crazy
about her and started to make a lady of her. That was his mania."

Lannis leaned from his saddle and carefully dropped his cigarette end
into a puddle of rain water. Then he swung one leg over and sat side
saddle.

"Clinch had plenty of money in those days," he went on. "He could
afford to educate the child. The kid had a governess. Then he sent her
to a fancy boarding school. She had everything a young girl could want.

"She developed into a pretty young thing at fifteen. ... She's eighteen
now -- and I don't know what to call her. She pulled a gun on me in
July."

"What!"

"Sure. There was a row at Clinch's dump. A rum-runner called Jake
Kloon got shot up. I came up to get Clinch. He was sick-drunk in his
bunk. When I broke in the door Eve Strayer pulled a gun on me."

"What happened?" inquired Stormont.

"Nothing. I took Clinch. ... But he got off as usual."

"Acquitted?"

Lannis nod