ill be very heavy."

"Yes," agreed Thorpe.

"And," then pursued Northrop with a dry smile, "they practically own
Sherman. You may be in for contempt of court at their instigation. As I
understand it, they are trying rather to injure you than to get anything
out of it themselves."

"That's it," nodded Thorpe.

"In other words, it's a case for compromise."

"Just what I wanted to get at," said Thorpe with satisfaction. "Now
answer me a question. Suppose a man injures Government or State land by
trespass. The land is afterwards bought by another party. Has the
latter any claim for damage against the trespasser? Understand me, the
purchaser bought AFTER the trespass was committed."

"Certainly," answered Northrop without hesitation.

"Provided suit is brought within six years of the time the trespass was
committed."

"Good! Now see here. These M. & D. people stole about a section of
Government pine up on that river, and I don't believe they've ever
bought in the land it stood on. In fact I don't believe they suspect
that anyone knows they've been stealing. How would it do, if I were to
buy that section at the Land Office, and threaten to sue them for the
value of the pine that originally stood on it?"

The lawyer's eyes glimmered behind the lenses of his pince-nez; but,
with the caution of the professional man he made no other sign of
satisfaction.

"It would do very well indeed," he replied, "but you'd have to prove
they did the cutting, and you'll have to pay experts to estimate the
probable amount of the timber. Have you the description of the section?"

"No," responded Thorpe, "but I can get it; and I can pick up witnesses
from the woodsmen as to the cutting."

"The more the better. It is rather easy to discredit the testimony of
one or two. How much, on a broad guess, would you estimate the timber to
come to?"

"There ought to be about eight or ten million," guessed Thorpe after an
instant's silence, "worth in the stump anywhere from sixteen to twenty
thousand dollars. It would cost me only eight hundred to buy it."

"Do so, by all means. Get your documents and evidence all in shape, and
let me have them. I'll see that the suit is discontinued then. Will you
sue them?"

"No, I think not," replied Thorpe. "I'll just hold it back as a sort of
club to keep them in line."

The next day, he took the train north. He had something definite and
urgent to do, and, as always with practical affairs demanding