'em."

Cora and the others, listening, knew that Denny would only be too glad
if he did have the documents in question. But the girls had heard him
lamenting that he did not know where they were.

Why did he now let the men think he did know? It was a puzzle to the
girls.

"Not get them, eh?" cried Bruce. "That's to be seen. Now look here,
Shane. We came here to do business, and we're going to do it. By fair
means if we can, if not----"

He paused suggestively.

"Ah! I know you and your breed!" cried the old fisherman. "By fair
means or foul! But try it on! I'm not afraid of you."

He stepped back a pace, the better to defend himself in case he had
to. The red oar was still in his firm hands.

"Now wait a minute," put in Moran. "We'll try the fair means first.
What do you say to that? Show him the bills."

With a quick gesture Bruce drew out a roll of greenbacks.

"Here you go, Shane!" he exclaimed. "There's a cool hundred here, and
it's yours if you testify that the Widow Lewis has no claim on the
land. And she hasn't any claim that she can prove. All we want you to
testify to is that her husband's father sold the land some time before
his death. We'll do the rest."

"But he didn't sell it!" cried Denny. "It was his on his dyin' day,
and it belongs to his son's widder and daughter now. That's the law,
an' you know it."

"She can't prove that the land is hers," sneered Kelly.

"Maybe she can," returned Denny, quietly.

"Well, she can't unless you tell what you know," broke in Bruce.
"We've found out that much. Now the factory wants that land, and it's
going to get it. Here, I'll make it a hundred and fifty if you do as
we want you to."

"An' testify to a lie?" cried Denny.

"It wouldn't be exactly a lie. Besides, we're willing to pay the widow
a small sum."

"Not what the land's worth. That's valuable property," insisted Denny,
"and it will keep her in her old age if she manages right. Be off with
you! I'll stick to the Widder Lewis, so I will. Be off!" and he
motioned them to the door. "You wouldn't have got this close if it
hadn't been that my dog was dead. Be off!"

"Not so fast," Cora and her chums heard Bruce say. "We haven't said
all we intend to."

"Oh, I'm sure something will happen now," quavered Bess.

"Hush," cautioned Cora. "We must do something!"

"Do something?" questioned Marita. "Oh, why don't the boys come?"

Cora and her chums were close to the cabin now. They could look in