or a genial manner.

"What do you make of it, Bud?" asked Nort.

"Of what?"

"Professor Wright having that rascal with him?"

"Well," remarked Bud, with as judicial an air as he could assume on
short notice, "you can look at it in two ways."

"For instance?" suggested Dick, teasingly. "We're in for something
good, now," he whispered to his brother, though not so low but that Bud
could not hear.

"Well, either Professor Wright knows Del Pinzo is a rascal, and takes
to him in spite of that, or he doesn't know it--though how he can be
ignorant I can't understand," declared Bud. "If he doesn't--he's the
only one who knows the game who thinks Del is any better than a common,
onery horse thief!"

"Maybe something will happen, soon, to open his eyes," suggested Nort,
as they rode on.

When they reached the headquarters at Diamond X they found Sheriff Hank
Fowler in earnest conversation with Mr. Merkel.

"Anything doing, Dad?" asked Bud.

"Yes. I'm summoned to court to prove my title to the Spur Creek land,"
was the answer. "Hank has just served me with the papers."

"I'm tellin' him he don't need to worry none," said Mr. Fowler, with a
genial grin. "He can easy prove his title."

"Perhaps not so easy as you think," remarked Mr. Merkel, "since my
papers are missing. If I could only get them back!"

"And I think I have a plan that will get them back!" suddenly exclaimed
Nort.

CHAPTER XXIII

IN DISGUISE

All eyes were turned on the lad, but he did not seem abashed.

"What's the idea?" asked Dick, who thought perhaps his brother was
"joshing."

"It just occurred to me, after I saw Del Pinzo at the professor's
camp," Nort said. "It may sound foolish, but it's worth trying, I
think."

And when, a little later, he had explained to Mr. Merkel and Sheriff,
they clapped the lad on the back heartily and said:

"Go ahead! It's worth trying!"

Nort needed several days to perfect his plans for a daring excursion
into the enemy's country, so to speak. But before he had completed his
arrangements Del Pinzo, through some rascally lawyers, had gotten in
the first blow of the legal battle.

As Mr. Merkel had said, he was summoned to court to defend his claim to
the rich grazing lands of Spur Creek. If he had had his documents this
would have been comparatively easy, but with the stealing of the deeds
and other papers, the task was harder.

Of course Mr. Merkel engaged a lawyer, but the first skirm