rom both of their minds, as,
doubtless, it had from the minds of all the others; but, even if they
had remembered it, they would not have thought of connecting it in any
way with the finding of the button. Hence Bud, at the summons of the
alcalde, had stepped forward promptly and confidently.

"We find two buttons missing from the prisoner's coat," announced the
foreman of the jury, when the examination of Bud had been completed.
"But, since the button offered in evidence bears no resemblance in
design or size to the buttons remaining on the coat, we declare that so
far as this prisoner is concerned the button in question proves
nothing."

"You may return to your place by the side of the sheriff," and the
alcalde gave an almost audible sigh of relief, while something very near
like a cheer came from the crowd. It was hard to look into those two
young clear-eyed faces and believe that they masked the hearts of
murderers.

Bud hurried back to his place by the side of the sheriff, with the first
smile on his lips that had so far brightened his face during the trial.

"Now," and the alcalde turned to Thure, "let the jury compare the button
with the buttons on your clothing," and the anxious look came back on
his face.

Thure, with the same promptness and confidence that Bud had displayed,
advanced and submitted to the examination; but, hardly had he reached
the foreman of the jury, when the excited actions of the jurymen told
all that an important discovery of some kind had been made; and their
report was awaited with almost breathless interest.

"We find," began the foreman, speaking slowly, after every man on the
jury had carefully compared the button Quinley had handed to the alcalde
with the buttons on Thure's coat, "one button missing from the
prisoner's coat." He paused a moment, and then continued, raising his
voice a little: "We also find that the button handed to the alcalde by
the witness, Spikenard Quinley, and said to have been found by him on
the spot of ground where the struggle took place between the murdered
man and his murderers, to be exactly similar in design, size, and shape
to the remaining buttons on the prisoner's coat, and that it appears to
be the missing button."

"But--but," stammered Thure, his face white and tense with excitement,
"that button, if it came from my clothes, could not have been found on
the ground where the miner was murdered. Why, I did not even have on the
same clothes t