ill believe him to be. It does not seem possible that he
can be engaged in such work as this. We are going altogether on
supposition--putting two and two together, don't you know, and hoping
they will stick. But, in any event, we must not let any chance slip by.
If he is interested, we must bring him to time. It may mean the
unravelling of the whole skein, dear. Don't look so distressed. Be
brave. It doesn't matter what we learn in the end, I love you just the
same. You shall be my wife."

"I _do_ love you, Wicker. I will always love you."

"Dear little sweetheart!"

They whirled up to the lodge gate at Judge Brewster's place at last, the
throbbing machine coming to a quick stop. Before he called out to the
lodge keeper, Bonner impulsively drew her gloveless hand to his lips.

"Nothing can make any difference now," he said.

The lodge keeper, in reply to Bonner's eager query, informed them that
Mr. Barnes had gone away ten or fifteen minutes before with an old man
who claimed to be a detective, and who had placed the great lawyer under
arrest.

"Good Lord!" gasped Bonner with a sinking heart.

"It's an outrage, sir! Mr. Barnes is the best man in the world. He never
wronged no one, sir. There's an 'orrible mistake, sir," groaned the
lodge keeper. "Judge Brewster is in Boggs City, and the man wouldn't
wait for his return. He didn't even want to tell Mr. Barnes what 'e was
charged with."

"Did you ever hear of anything so idiotic?" roared Bonner. Rosalie was
white and red by turn. "What direction did they take?"

"The constable told Mr. Barnes he'd 'ave to go to Tinkletown with 'im at
once, sir, even if he 'ad to walk all the way. The old chap said
something, sir, about a man being there who could identify him on sight.
Mr. Barnes 'ad to laugh, sir, and appeared to take it all in good
humour. He said he'd go along of 'im, but he wouldn't walk. So he got
his own auto out, sir, and they went off together. They took the short
cut, sir, by the ferry road, 'eaded for Tinkletown. Mr. Barnes said he'd
be back before noon, sir--if he wasn't lynched."

"It's all over," groaned Bonner dejectedly. Something had slipped from
under his feet and he was dangling in space, figuratively speaking.
"There's nothing to do, Rosalie, except to chase them down. Mr. Crow has
ruined everything. I'll leave you at Bonner Place with mother and Edith,
and I'll hurry back to Tinkletown."

The excitement was too much for Rosalie's nerves. S