"but maybe your assistance and plan will be the
thing that's needed. I want information. People will stare at and talk
to a midget and they will pay little attention to the badly dressed
old gent with whom he associates. Anyhow, it won't hurt to try it
out."

Davy insisted that the party should start for Cheyenne the very next
morning. James Gillis, who was to do the driving, would wait until he
learned of road conditions. Welborn occupied much of the time in
fitting himself with old shoes, overalls, hickory shirts, and a
slouch hat. On Monday, Jim learned that the nearby trails were fit for
travel to the paved highway and on Tuesday morning the party of three
loaded the little car with boxes of metal, bundles of clothing, and
the like, and started for Cheyenne.

During the long drive, Welborn took up much of the time in instructing
Davy as to his destination and duties. "Bransford, a near suburb of
Chicago, is your destination," he explained, "and the man who insulted
the better element of the community by his insistence that the
prevailing lawlessness was wholly due to their negligence was named
Shirley Wells. And this same Wells, when he found that gangsters had
taken over the management of the old family bank and brought disrepute
to an honored name, staged a battle with these invaders that sent two
of 'em to the hospital and maybe resulted in the death of one or both.
Was he indicted? Did a mob form? He did not wait to see. With the
family estate squandered, this Wells boarded a night freight train to
avoid present responsibilities and to seek a new start in life. His
linen and underwear was marked S.W. He changed his name to Samuel
Welborn. You know the rest of the story, Davy, but there is a lost
chapter in the tale. What's the present-day status of Shirley Wells in
his home town?

"In Bransford, you will headquarter at the Grand Union Hotel.
Following your 'broadcast' about establishing a training ground for
the Kid Show, you must quietly go to the office of Fred Townsend for
information. He's a lawyer. If he's alive, I've got a chance; if he's
dead, Shirley Wells is still Sam Welborn and the Silver Falls district
must continue as his hideout.

"In your contact with Townsend, tell him that I sent you--that you are
my A.Z.--and he will understand. What you tell him is casual; your
objective is to find out all about the standing of Shirley Wells.
Shirley is surely a bankrupt, but is he a murderer? Are indictm