y," returned the consul hastily, "and was an
indefensible act, even in a lawless frontier civilization. But you are
surely not mad enough even to conceive of such a thing HERE!"

"Keep your hair on, Jack," said Custer lazily. "What's the matter with
constitutional methods, eh? Do you remember the time when we didn't like
Pueblo rules, and we laid out Eureka City on their lines, and whooped up
the Mexicans and diggers to elect mayor and aldermen, and put the city
front on Juanita Creek, and then corraled it for water lots? Seems to
me you were county clerk then. Now who's to keep Dick Macgregor and Joe
Hamilton, that are both up the Nile now, from droppin' in over here to
see Malcolm in his own house? Who's goin' to object to Wallace or Baird,
who are on this side, doin' the Eytalian lakes, from comin' here on
their way home; or Watson and Moore and Timley, that are livin' over in
Paris, from joinin' the boys in givin' Malcolm a housewarmin' in his old
home? What's to keep the whole syndicate from gatherin' at Kelpie Island
up here off the west coast, among the tombs of Malcolm's ancestors, and
fixin' up things generally with the clan?"

"Only one thing," said the consul, with a gravity which he nevertheless
felt might be a mistaken attitude. "You shouldn't have told ME about
it. For if, as your old friend, I cannot keep you from committing an
unconceivable folly, as the American consul here it will be my first
duty to give notice to our legation, and perhaps warn the authorities.
And you may be sure I will do it."

To his surprise Custer leaned forward and pressed his hand with an
expression of cheerful relief. "That's so, old pard; I reckoned on it.
In fact, I told Malcolm that that would be about your gait. Of course
you couldn't do otherwise. And it would have been playin' it rather low
down on you to have left you out in the cold--without even THAT show in
the game. For what you will do in warnin' the other fellows, don't you
see, will just waken up the clan. It's better than a campaign circular."

"Don't be too sure of that," said the consul, with a half-hysterical
laugh. "But we won't consider so lamentable a contingency. Come and
dine with me, both of you, and we'll discuss the only thing worth
discussing,--your LEGAL rights,--and you can tell me your whole story,
which, by the way, I haven't heard."

"Sorry, Jack, but it can't be done," said Custer, with his first
approach to seriousness of manner. "You see,