taking place between
the thief and the Governor. The Governor extracted the sixty
one-thousand-dollar bills from his bag, and laid them out on the bed. He
rapidly explained just how Leary's hidden booty had been recovered, and
the manner in which the smaller denominations had been converted into
bills that could be passed without arousing suspicion.

"Too big for one bite, but old Dan Sheedy will change 'em all for you in
Bean Center. You know his place? You see him alone and ask him to chop
some feed for your cattle. He makes a good front and stands well at his
bank."

Leary picked up ten of the bills and held them out to the Governor.

"If that ain't right we'll make it right," he said.

"Not a cent, Red! I haven't got to a point yet where I charge a fee for
my services. But our young brother here is entitled to anything he
wants."

Archie grasped with difficulty the idea that he was invited to share in
the loot. His insistence that he couldn't think for a moment of
accepting any of the money puzzled Leary.

"It's all right about you, Governor, but the kid had better shake the
tree. If his hands are wet he's likely to need a towel."

"Don't be an ass, Comly," said the Governor. "Leary's ahead of the game
ten thousand good plunks and what he offers is a ridiculously modest
honorarium. Recovering such property and getting it into shape for the
market is worth something handsome."

"Really," began Archie, and then as the "really" seemed an absurdly
banal beginning for a rejection of an offer of stolen money, he said
with a curl of the lip and a swagger, "Oh, hell! I'd feel pretty rotten
to take money from one of the good pals. And besides, I didn't do
anything anyhow."

The Governor passed his hand over his face to conceal a smile, but Leary
seemed sincerely grieved by Archie's conduct and remarked dolefully that
there must be something wrong with the money. The Governor hastily
vouched for its impeccable quality and excused Archie as a person hardly
second to himself for eccentricity.

[Illustration: "It's all right about you, Governor, but the kid better
shake the tree"]

"No hard feeling; most certainly not! My young friend is only proud to
serve a man of your standing in the profession. It is possible that
later on you may be able to render us a service. You never can tell, you
know, Red."

Leary philosophically stowed the bills in his clothing.

"You're done, are you?" asked the Governor; "out of th