overed his composure, Ford exclaimed:

"Boys, Bob is the son of the best friend I ever had--Horace Chester. I
was struck by the resemblance when I first laid eyes on him. When he
told me his name, I thought I must be mistaken. But Chester knew better.
That's why the dog took to him. He recognized the blood.

"And now you all ride on. Bob and I want to talk."

Reluctantly the cowboys obeyed and when they were out of hearing, Bob
spoke, giving a detailed account of the reasons why he had come to
Fairfax, the experiences through which he had passed while on the way,
his discoveries about his father's property, and finally showed the
ranchman the precious letter.

"And Leon Dardus kept you at drudgery, denying you your money, even
trying to make you believe your father was insane!" remarked Ford, as
the narration ended. "I knew he was a villain. That will is a forgery,
Bob. We'll get back the property for you, never fear. Dardus may have
money. But your friends Perkins and Nichols have more. I made a vow when
Dardus beat me on the will that when I had one hundred thousand dollars
I'd track him down and solve this mystery. But now it won't be necessary
to wait.

"Right will conquer, every time, Bob!"

CHAPTER XXV

FROM RANCH TO RICHES

Bob asked many questions about his father on the ride to Red Top,
learning that he had died from pneumonia; that his mother had died soon
after Bob was born, and that it had been his father's dying request that
he be sent to New York, where he could grow up and receive the education
he himself had been denied. But their arrival at Red Top put an end to
their conversation and they turned to the matter at hand.

As the citizens saw Bob's pursuers return captives they were amazed, and
when they learned the reason they expressed in no uncertain terms their
anger at having been made to chase an innocent boy.

At the jail, the forged deed and other papers that were to be used in
stealing John Ford's ranch away from him were found on the prisoners and
were filed away to be used against them at the trial.

To one or two of his firm friends, the ranchman introduced Bob, and
sincere were their expressions of delight both at meeting him and in
knowing that he was to come into his own. Ford, however, swore them to
silence, for there were some of the townsfolk who had supported Dardus
in his lawsuit, and neither the ranchman nor Bob wished a word of his
presence to leak out till they h