men, in believing that I hold the key to this
situation. The Judge has asked two questions: 'Did Patrick O'Meara ever
give up his title to the land?' and 'Is O'mie his heir, and therefore
the rightful owner?' Let me tell you first what I know of O'mie.

"His mother was a dear little Irish woman who had come, a stranger, to
New York City and was married to Patrick O'Meara when she was quite
young. They were poor, and after O'mie was born, his father decided to
try the West. Fate threw him into the way of a Frenchman who sent him to
St. Louis to the employment of a fur-trading company in the upper
Missouri River country. O'Meara knew that the West held large
possibilities for a poor man. He hoped in a short time to send for his
wife and child to join him."

The priest paused, and his brow darkened.

"This Frenchman, although he was of noble birth, had all the evil traits
and none of the good ones of all the generations, and withal he was a
wild, restless, romantic dreamer and adventurer. You two do not know
what heartlessness means. This man had no heart, and yet," the holy
man's voice trembled, "his people loved him--will always love his
memory, for he could be irresistibly charming and affectionate when he
chose. To make this painful story short, he fell in love--madly as only
he could love--with this pretty little auburn-haired Irish woman. He had
a wife in France, but Mrs. O'Meara pleased him for the time; and he was
that kind of a beast.

"O'Meara came to Springvale, and finding here a chance to get hold of a
good claim, he bought it. He built a little cabin and sent money to New
York for his wife and child to join him here. Mails were slow in
preterritorial days. The next letter O'Meara had from New York was from
this Frenchman telling him that his wife and child were dead. Meanwhile
the villain played the kind friend and brother to the little woman and
helped her to prepare for her journey to the West. He had business
himself in St. Louis. He would precede her there and accompany her to
her husband's new home. Oh, he knew how to deceive, and he was as
charming in manner as he was dominant in spirit. No king ever walked the
earth with a prouder step. You have seen Jean Pahusca stride down the
streets of Springvale, and you know his regal bearing. Such was this
Frenchman.

"In truth," the priest went on, "he had cause to leave New York. Word
had come to him that his deserted French wife was on her way to America