"He--" Mr. Braden began and checked himself suddenly. Riley was laying
verbal traps for him. He must be careful. "If you have this conveyance,
let me see it."

"You will see it at the proper time."

"You mean that you haven't got it," Mr. Braden charged.

The judge smiled. "You think I am trying to trap you into an admission.
Nothing of the sort. I said we could produce the documents. The only
difference between them and the others is the description of the
property. Same date, same witness. It's useless to deny the existence of
documents which I myself have seen."

There was no doubt that the judge was telling the truth. So Garland had
sold out to Mackay. Mr. Braden's front trenches were carried, but he
believed his second line to be impregnable.

"I'm not denying its existence. I know all about the thing, including
the fact that it was stolen from me."

"The main thing is that it exists."

"It exists, but it is worthless."

"My clients consider it rather valuable."

"I suppose they paid for it, but they've been stung. When I sold that
land to Winton, a clerk in my office prepared the deeds and got the
description wrong. When I discovered the error I had new deeds prepared
and executed, and they are what I suppose French gave to Winton's
daughter. I supposed he had given them to Winton long ago. So there you
are! You've found a mare's nest, and that's all there is to it."

Judge Riley chuckled internally, though his face was grave. Braden was
doing the obvious.

"Don't you compare conveyances before execution in your office?"

"Of course I do. But in this case the error was in the description which
the clerk prepared and gave to the stenographer to copy. She copied it,
and it was compared with what had been given her."

"Then who discovered the error?"

"I did. It struck me that the description was not correct."

"After you had signed it and French had witnessed it?"

"Y--yes." There was hesitation in his voice.

"Don't you read things over before you sign and have your signature
witnessed? Why didn't it strike you then?"

"You aren't cross-examining me!" Mr. Braden asserted.

"Not at all. I am just trying to understand a situation which is rather
extraordinary. Then, as I understand it, you had a new conveyance
prepared, and delivered it to French, and that's all you know about it?"

"That's all," Mr. Braden confirmed.

"Why didn't you destroy the other one?"

"I suppose I overlooked it. T