ranger's interference. Led by Abe and Eli, who busily
proclaimed that the arrest of Henry and his companions was merely a
trick to divert suspicion from the Kauffman woman, they advanced upon
the coroner.

Abe had failed of getting a warrant for the ranger, but boasted that he
had the promise of one as soon as the inquest should be ended.
"Furthermore," he said, "old Louis Cuneo is on his way over the range,
and I'll bet something will start the minute he gets in."

Carmody, who was disposed to make as much of his position as the
statutes permitted, had called the hearing in a public hall which stood
a few doors south of his office, and at ten o'clock the aisles were so
jammed with expectant auditors that Throop was forced to bring his
witnesses in at the back door. Nothing like this trial in the way of
free entertainment had been offered since the day Jim Nolan was lynched
from the railway bridge.

Hanscom was greatly cheered by the presence of his chief, Supervisor
Rawlins, who came into the coroner's office about a quarter to ten. He
had driven over from Cambria in anxious haste, greatly puzzled by the
rumors which had reached him. He was a keen young Marylander, a college
graduate, with considerable experience in the mountain West. He liked
Hanscom and trusted him, and when the main points of the story were
clear in his mind he said:

"You did perfectly right, Hans, and I'll back you in it. I'm something
of a dabster at law myself, and I'll see that Kitsong don't railroad you
into jail. What worries me is the general opposition now being
manifested. With the whole Shellfish Valley on edge, your work will be
hampered. It will make your position unpleasant for a while at least."

Hanscom uneasily shifted his glance. "That doesn't matter. I'm going to
quit the work, anyhow."

"Oh no, you're not!"

"Yes, I am. I wrote out my resignation this morning."

Rawlins was sadly disturbed. "I hate to have you let this gang drive you
out."

"It isn't that," replied Hanscom, somberly. "The plain truth is, Jack,
I've lost interest in the work. If Miss McLaren is cleared--and she will
be--she'll go East, and I don't see myself going back alone into the
hills."

The supervisor studied him in silence for a moment, and his voice was
gravely sympathetic as he said: "I see! This girl has made your cabin
seem a long way from town."

"She's done more than that, Jack. She's waked me up. She's shown me that
I can't afford to r