g lifted his glass to MacWilliams, and nodded.

"'Well done, Condor,'" he quoted, smiling.

"Yes," said Clay, tapping the younger man on the shoulder as he passed
him. "That's good work. Now show us the paper, Stuart."

Stuart pulled the candles toward him, and spread a slip of paper on the
table.

"Burke did this up in one of those paper boxes for wax matches," he
explained, "and weighted it with a twenty-dollar gold piece.
MacWilliams kept the gold piece, I believe."

"Going to use it for a scarf-pin," explained MacWilliams, in
parenthesis. "Sort of war-medal, like the Chief's," he added, smiling.

"This is in Spanish," Stuart explained. "I will translate it. It is
not addressed to any one, and it is not signed, but it was evidently
written to Mendoza, and we know it is in Burke's handwriting, for we
compared it with some notes of his that we took from him before he was
locked up. He says, 'I cannot keep the appointment, as I have been
arrested.' The line that follows here," Stuart explained, raising his
head, "has been scratched out, but we spent some time over it, and we
made out that it read: 'It was Mr. Clay who recognized me, and ordered
my arrest. He is the best man the others have. Watch him.' We think
he rubbed that out through good feeling toward Clay. There seems to be
no other reason. He's a very good sort, this old Burke, I think."

"Well, never mind him; it was very decent of him, anyway," said Clay.
"Go on. Get to Hecuba."

"'I cannot keep the appointment, as I have been arrested,'" repeated
Stuart. "'I landed the goods last night in safety. I could not come
in when first signalled, as the wind and tide were both off shore. But
we got all the stuff stored away by morning. Your agent paid me in
full and got my receipt. Please consider this as the same thing--as the
equivalent'--it is difficult to translate it exactly," commented
Stuart--"'as the equivalent of the receipt I was to have given when I
made my report to-night. I sent three of your guards away on my own
responsibility, for I think more than that number might attract
attention to the spot, and they might be seen from the ore-trains.'
That is the point of the note for us, of course," Stuart interrupted
himself to say. "Burke adds," he went on, "'that they are to make no
effort to rescue him, as he is quite comfortable, and is willing to
remain in the carcel until they are established in power.'"

"Within sight of the o