ient?"

"Oh, lord, yes! It gives Ricketts a pain when he parts with a ten-dollar
bill, so it won't take very much money to compete with him."

"As you know the man, and as it's your ranch that is in jeopardy, you
can carry out the negotiations better than a stranger like myself."

"That's so; if I have the cash. A hundred dollars would turn the trick."

"Better take five hundred dollars and be sure of it."

They stopped their horses and made the transfer of money where they
stood, as being safer than in the tavern.

Arriving at Bleachers, they found the express office closed for the
night, but next day his lordship, with Armstrong as his identifier,
secured the package.

The land sale took place in the Agricultural Hall, the largest building
in town. Stanley Armstrong's six armed followers arrived in good time,
and quite unobtrusively seated themselves in a row on a bench at the
rear of the hall. When Stranleigh, accompanied by Armstrong, came in,
the half dozen shook hands with their chief, and expressed no more
surprise at meeting him than if he had left them the week before. Large
as the hall was, it speedily filled up, but Lawyer Ricketts, on
entering, as he cast his eye over the assemblage, knew there were few
moneyed men among the crowd gathered there, and so anticipated no
serious opposition when the bidding began.

The lawyer was accompanied by two friends; strangers in Bleachers,
who took their places beside him on the chairs provided near the
auctioneer's desk. Ricketts was an important man, and quite entitled to
reserved seats for himself and his friends. Last of all the sheriff
entered, and mounted the platform, bowing graciously to the meeting,
which was composed of constituents whose votes he would need next year.
It was quite evident that the sheriff was a popular man, for there was a
round of applause the moment he appeared.

He got down to business without any unnecessary loss of time, reading
the documents giving the conditions of the sale, the item on which
Stranleigh was relying being that no cheques would be accepted,
or credit allowed. Payment must be cash down on the fall of the
auctioneer's gavel. This the clever lawyer had insisted upon, to
prevent all possibility of his being outbid by someone who desired
time for payment. Thus he dug a pit for his own undoing.

Having finished this reading, the sheriff took a sip from the glass
supposed to hold water, and promptly began--

"You al