I do--"

"He is my uncle," Adair cut in.

"Oh; then I can't tell you anything about him. He was hot at Ford last
night; what for I don't know, unless it was because Ford opposed a night
run over a raw construction track with the Nadia. He was right about
that, though. If I had been in his place I would have thrown up my job
before I would have taken the risk."

Adair appeared to be considering something, and when he had thought it
out, the porter had announced dinner and they had taken their places at
the table.

"I have told you I am Ford's friend, Mr. Leckhard; I have ridden a
couple of thousand miles out of my way to give him a lift. Tell me
frankly; have you any reason to believe it will come to blows between
him and the president while they are together at the front?--Try this
celery; it's as good as you'd get at Sherry's."

Leckhard helped himself to the relish, and waited until the negro,
Johnson, had gone back to the cook's galley.

"The little I know comes in a roundabout way," he replied slowly.
"Penfield, who is known all over the Southwestern as Mr. North's private
detective and spy, is with Mr. Colbrith acting as the president's
secretary. Yesterday, while the Nadia was side-tracked here, Penfield
had a lot of telegraphing to do for Mr. Colbrith. He did it
himself--he's a lightning operator, among other things--and I happened
into the office just as he was finishing. His final message was a
cipher, to Mr. North, and he signed it with his own name."

"Well?" said Adair.

Again the engineer waited until the negro was out of hearing.

"A little later, just as the Nadia was about to pull out, there came a
rush call from Denver for Penfield. I answered and said the car was on
the point of leaving, but that I'd take the message and try to catch
Penfield if I could. It came, on the run, and it was signed by Eckstein,
North's chief clerk. It wasn't ciphered--lack of time, I reckon--and
Eckstein took the chance that I wouldn't catch on."

"You kept a copy?" suggested Adair.

"I did. I wasn't able to deliver the original until the Nadia came back
from the foot of the pass in the evening to fill the engine tank. But I
couldn't make anything out of it. It was an order to Penfield not to let
anything interfere with the president's buckboard trip--whatever that
might be--with authority to incur any expense that might be necessary,
using the telegram as his credential with the MacMorrogh Brothers if
more mon