, it is all so vague that it
amounts to nothing. I rather think, however, that there were at least
three men."

"And if there were, I'll bet a new hat those men were Davenport, Tate,
and Jackson," returned Jack firmly.

"You may be right, Son. But you know what they say in court: It is one
thing to know the truth, and quite another to be able to prove it."

"But who would want to steal those papers if not Davenport and his
crowd?" questioned Randy. And then he added hurriedly: "Did they rob you
of anything else, Uncle Dick?"

"I don't think so." Dick Rover felt in his pockets. "No, my money and
watch and my diamond ring are all safe. If they had been ordinary
thieves they would certainly have taken everything of value."

"Our baggage doesn't seem to be disturbed," said Andy, who was looking
around. "I guess you are right--they were after those documents and
nothing else."

There was a pause, and suddenly the boys saw a queer smile pass over
Dick Rover's face, and then he uttered a peculiar whistle.

"What is it, Dad?" said Jack wonderingly. He knew that his father had a
habit of whistling in that fashion when something struck him as funny.

"I was just thinking that perhaps those fellows who robbed me had taken
a white elephant off my hands," returned Dick Rover.

"Why, what do you mean by white elephant?" questioned Andy.

"I mean that maybe they are fighting tooth and nail to get possession of
something which I might be only too glad to give them for nothing."

"Oh, Dad, are you talking about the Lorimer Spell claim?" questioned
Jack.

"Yes."

"But I don't understand."

"Of course you don't. But maybe you will after I've told my story. As
you know, I went to Wichita Falls mainly to get the documents which
Lorimer Spell had stored away in the safe deposit vault of a bank there.
Well, I got the documents, and in looking them over found that while
Lorimer Spell's claim to the land seemed to be fairly well established,
still there was something of a cloud to the title--the cloud of which
Carson Davenport and his crowd are taking advantage. But more than that,
I found that a firm of oil experts named Fitch and Lunberry had gone
over the property both for Spell and for an oil promoter who had thought
to put some money into operations there. So then I called on the firm
and had a long talk with Mr. Fitch."

"And what did Mr. Fitch have to say about the land?" asked Jack quickly.

"He was very frank to say