ss of the hands they hold that is uncertain.
Against that you have your certain uncontested possession, the peculiar
character and antecedents of this 'Lige Curtis, which would make his
evidence untrustworthy and even make it difficult for them to establish
his identity. I am told that his failure to contest your appropriation
of his property is explained by the fact of his being absent from the
country most of the time; but again, this would not account for their
silence until within the last six months, unless they have been waiting
for further evidence to establish it. But even then they must have known
that the time of recovery had passed. You are a practical man, Harcourt;
I needn't tell you therefore what your lawyer will probably tell you,
that practically, so far as your rights are concerned, you remain
as before these calumnies; that a cause of action unprosecuted or
in abeyance is practically no cause, and that it is not for you to
anticipate one. BUT"--

He paused and looked steadily at Harcourt. Harcourt met his look with a
dull, ox-like stolidity. "I shall begin the suit at once," he said.

"And I," said Grant, holding out his hand, "will stand by you. But tell
me now what you knew of this man Curtis,--his character and disposition;
it may be some clue as to what are his methods and his intentions."

Harcourt briefly sketched 'Lige Curtis as he knew him and understood
him. It was another indication of his reserved power that the
description was so singularly clear, practical, unprejudiced, and
impartial that it impressed Grant with its truthfulness.

"I can't make him out," he said; "you have drawn a weak, but neither a
dishonest nor malignant man. There must have been somebody behind him.
Can you think of any personal enemy?"

"I have been subjected to the usual jealousy and envy of my old
neighbors, I suppose, but nothing more. I have harmed no one knowingly."

Grant was silent; it had flashed across him that Rice might have
harbored revenge for his father-in-law's interference in his brief
matrimonial experience. He had also suddenly recalled his conversation
with Billings on the day that he first arrived at Tasajara. It would not
be strange if this man had some intimation of the secret. He would try
to find him that evening. He rose.

"You will stay to dinner? My wife and Clementina will expect you."

"Not to-night; I am dining at the hotel," said Grant, smilingly; "but I
will come in later in t