nel isn't legally dead."

"What?" yelled Blount, and sat down in a chair while he stared at the
inscrutable Wiley.

"His body was never found and, under the law, he can't be declared dead
for seven years. Mrs. Huff had no right to sell his stock."

"Oh, but he's dead, Wiley," assured Blount. "Surely there's no doubt of
that. They found his burro, and his letters and everything; and where he
had run wild through the sand. If that storm hadn't come up they would
certainly have found his body--the Indian trailers said so; so why stick
on a technicality?"

"That's the law," said Wiley. "You know it yourself. But of course, if
you want to vote this stock at a Directors' meeting we can still do
business on that lease."

"Oh, my Lord!" sighed Blount, and after a heavy silence he rose up and
paced the floor. As for Wiley, he ran through the papers, making notes
of dates and numbers, and then grimly began to fill out a legal blank.

"There's the option," he said, passing over a paper, "and I see now how
you double-crossed my father. So you don't need to sign unless you want
to."

"Why--er--what's that?" exclaimed Blount, coming out of his abstraction
as Wiley slapped down the bundle of certificates.

"I see by these endorsements," replied Wiley, "that you sold out before
the panic and bought in all this stock afterwards."

Blount started and a red line mounted up to his eyes as he hastily
glanced over the option.

"Well, I'll sign it," he mumbled, and reached for the pen, but Wiley
checked his hand.

"No, you ring for a notary," he said. "I want that signature
acknowledged."

The notary came and ran perfunctorily through his formula, after which
he left them alone.

"Now here's the bond and lease," went on Wiley curtly, "so bring on your
Board of Directors and let's get this business over. By rights I ought
to kill you."

There was a special meeting then of the Board of Directors of The
Paymaster Mining and Milling Company, and when the bond and lease was
properly drawn up, they signed it and had it witnessed. Then once more
the tense silence came over the room and Wiley rose to go.

"Well," he said, "I've been waiting for ten years just to get these
papers in my hands. And now, you danged crook, just to hit you where you
live, I'm going to make a fortune."

"A fortune!" echoed Blount, and then he clasped his hands and sank
down weakly in a chair. "I knew it!" he moaned, "I knew it all the
time--you've been