for me just as though he were the actual owner of the property. Dart
says that three months ago the mortgage was foreclosed. That was just
before I came home. I heard nothing of it. He swears that he saw the
sheriff's certificate of sale to your father. In California law due
notice must be served upon a man whose property is threatened with sale
to satisfy the holder of the mortgage. From the date of that sale
until a year later the original owner has what is termed a year of
redemption during which, at any time, upon his paying the amount of the
mortgage and all costs, he may regain his property. Do you follow me,
Wanda?"

"Yes. Go on, Wayne."

"Had I not been away, had I not furthermore given to Garth my power of
attorney, that first service of notice of foreclosure would have come
to me. It came to Garth instead; it had to come to him. By his simply
ignoring the matter, failing to appear in court or to be represented by
a lawyer when the matter was called, he allowed the Bar L-M to be sold
to pay the promissory note of twenty-five thousand given by Arthur to
your father. Your father bought in the property himself. It is now
his and not mine; it would become absolutely his, with clear title, if
I should allow this year of redemption to pass without paying off the
twenty-five thousand and costs. And that is certainly what would have
happened if I had not learned of the whole wretched deal, through Dart,
last night."

For a long time she did not answer. Even Wayne Shandon, who thought
that he knew how the girl loved and venerated her father, could not
guess how deeply this thing cut her. Presently, steadying her voice,
she said:

"You are absolutely sure of this, Wayne?"

"No. Not in every detail. But in enough to make me more than ready to
believe it, Wanda. Garth himself admitted the mortgage, and confessed
that he had known of it all along from the day it was made, and said he
knew that your father held it. Why didn't he tell me? Why didn't Mr.
Leland tell me? Why have they gone on with their plan of irrigation
without making me an offer for the water right without which their
whole plan falls to pieces?"

"There is only one thing to do, Wayne. You must come back with me. We
must go straight to papa and ask him."

"Wanda," he answered gently, "I have fought this out all night. I hope
that never in our lives will there come a time when you ask me to do a
thing that I cannot do. Will