. I'll find out what he ought to tell."

"All right for that, too," agreed Uncle Jim Brothers. "But about that
railroad, we'll hold court right here. We'll send out a summons to
them folks, and have a meetin' here, and we'll see which is which and
what is what in this town."

"That's fair enough," assented Learned Counsel. "We'll try the
railroad, and we'll try my client at the same time."

"Write out the summons," said Doc Tomlinson. "Send word down to them
railroad folks to come up here and be tried. It's time we knew who was
boss, them or us. Go ahead, you're a lawyer; fix it up."

They ignored Dan Anderson, their long-time leader in all matters of
public interest! Eventually it was Doc Tomlinson himself who drafted
the document, one of the most interesting of the Territorial records--a
summons whereby civilization was called before the bar of primitive
man. These presents being signed and sealed, a messenger was sought
for their delivery. None better offered than a half-witted sheepherder
commonly known as Willie, who chanced to be in town by buckboard from
the lower country. This much accomplished, the meeting at Whiteman's
corral broke up.

Learned Counsel took his client by the arm and led him away. "You need
not say much to your lawyer," he remarked; "but while I don't ask you
to incriminate yourself even with your counsel, I only want to say that
a Girl is, in a great many decisions of the upper courts, held to be an
extenuating circumstance." He watched the twitch of Dan Anderson's
face, but the latter would not speak.

"I don't know just where the girl exists now in this case," went on
Learned Counsel, "or how; but she's somewhere. It is not wholly
necessary that you should specify."

"My God!" broke out Dan Anderson. "I wanted--I hoped so much? It was
my opportunity, my first--"

"That's enough," said Learned Counsel. "You needn't say any more.
Every fellow has something of that sort in his life. What brought
McKinney here, and Doc Tomlinson, and all the rest?"

"Ribbons!" said Dan Anderson. "Tintypes!"

"Precisely. And who shall cast the first stone? If the boys knew--"

"But they don't know, they can't know. Do you think I'd uncover her
name, even among my friends--make her affairs public? No."

"Then your only defence cannot be brought into court."

"No. So what do you advise?"

"What do you advise your counsel to advise you?" asked Learned Counsel,
bitterly.

"N