stay with me to-night, Bill?"

"If you got the room, Tommy." He glanced about the little room. "This
bed ain't workin'?"

"Conniston, our superintendent, will sleep there to-night. He'll be in
in an hour or so. But I've got blankets, and if you care to make a bed
on the floor, there's lots of room."

"I'll do it," laughed the sheriff, stretching his great legs far out
in front of him. "It'll do me good. I been sleepin' in a bed so many
nights runnin' lately I'll be gettin' soft."

"All right. And if you'll pardon me a minute I want to telephone my
assistant. I've just got word of some work which must be ready by
morning. Not much rest on this job, Bill."

He picked up the telephone again and called Billy Jordan.

"I wish you'd run around for a minute, Billy," he said, his tone
evincing none of the tremor which he felt in his heart. "Bring the
fifth and seventh sheets of those computations you took home with you.
Yes, the figures for the work we are to do at the spring. Yes, you'd
better hurry with them, as I want to look 'em over before morning.
There's a ball-up somewhere. So long, Billy."

He had seen that Bill Wallace, whose business it was to be suspicious
at all times and of all men, had regarded him with narrowed, shrewd
eyes.

When Billy Jordan came in, ten minutes later, in no way surprised at
the summons, since he had been called on similar errands many times,
he found Bill Wallace telling a story and Tommy Garton chuckling
appreciatively.

"You know each other?" Garton asked. "Wallace says he's just over here
to look around at the beauties of nature, Billy. I've an idea," with a
wink at Wallace, "that he's looking for somebody. You haven't been
passing any bad money, have you, Billy? Much obliged for the papers."
He glanced at them and pushed them under the pillows of his cot.
"That's all now, Billy. Except that on your way home I want you to
drop in and see Mr. Crawford. Tell him that if he sees Conniston I
want him to tell him to be sure and come right around. There's a
ball-up in the work out at the spring. Wait a second." He scribbled a
note upon the leaf of the note-book which lay upon the window-sill.
"Give that to Mr. Crawford. It's an order to Mundy to cut the main
ditch out there down to four feet, and to stop work on the well that
is causing trouble, until further orders. Mundy will be going out
again to-night, and will stop at Crawford's first. Good night, Billy.
And come in early in the