keenly. Mapleson's face had a look of
pleasure as if he saw not only the opportunity to prove his cause, but
the chance to grill the priest, whose gentle power had time and again
led the Indians from his "Last Chance" saloon on annuity days, when the
peaceful Osages and Kaws came up for their supplies. The good Father's
face though serious, even apprehensive, had an undercurrent of serenity
in its expression hard to reconcile with fear of accusation.

"Mr. Mapleson, will you repeat to Le Claire what you have just told me
and show him your affidavits and records?" John Baronet asked.

"Certainly," Tell replied, and glibly he again set forth his basis to a
claim on the valuable property. "Now, Le Claire," he added, "Baronet and
I have about agreed to arbitrate for ourselves. Your name will never
appear in this. The records are seldom referred to, and you are as safe
with us as if you'd never married that squaw of old Satanta's household.
We are all men here, if one is a priest and one a judge and the other a
land-owner."

Le Claire's face never twitched a muscle. He turned his eyes upon the
judge inquiringly, but unabashed.

"Will you help us out of this, Le Claire?" my father asked. "If you
choose I will give you my claim first."

"Good," said Mapleson. "Let him hear us both, and his word will show us
what to do."

"Well, gentlemen," my father began, "by the merest chance a few years
ago I came upon the entry of the land in question. It was entered in the
name of Patrick O'Meara. Happening to recall that the little red-headed
orphan chore-boy down at the Cambridge House bore the same name, I made
some inquiry of Cam Gentry about the boy's origin and found that he was
an orphan from the Osage Mission, and had been brought up here by one of
the priests who stopped here a day or two on his way from the Osage to
St. Mary's, up on the Kaw. Cam and Dollie were kind to the child, and he
begged the priest to stay with them. The good man consented, and while
the guardianship remained with the people of the Mission, O'mie grew up
here. It seemed not impossible that he might have some claim on this
land. Everything kept pointing the fact more and more clearly to me.
Then I was called to the war."

Tell Mapleson's mobile face clouded up a bit at this.

"But I had by this time become so convinced that I called in Le Claire
here and held a council with him. He told me some of what he knew, not
all, for reasons he did not expl