“Some day very soon,” he said, “I shall have to kill that man or be killed.  And I’m sorry my guest, Mr. Okada, felt it incumbent upon himself to interfere.  If, between them, they have hurt Pablo, I shall certainly reduce the extremely erroneous Japanese census records in California by one.”

XVII

John Parker and his wife, with the unsuspecting Okada, were lingering over a late luncheon when Kay and Don Mike entered the dining-room.

“Well, you bold Spanish cavalier, what do you mean by running away with my little girl?” Mrs. Parker demanded.

Before Farrel could reply, Kay answered for him.

“We’ve had quite a wild and woolly Western adventure, mother dear.  Have you seen Pablo since we left together?”

“I have,” the lady replied.  “He had Monsieur Loustalot in charge, and related to us the details of the adventure up to the moment you and Mr. Farrel left him with the prisoner while you two continued on to El Toro.  What happened in El Toro?”

“Don Mike succeeded in attaching Loustalot’s bank-account,” Kay informed the company.  “The loot will probably amount to something over fifty thousand dollars.”

“I should say that isn’t a half-bad stipend to draw for your first half-day pursuit of the nimble cart-wheel of commerce,” Parker suggested.

Mrs. Parker pursed her lips comically.

“The boy is clever, John.  I knew it the moment I met him this morning.  Felicitations, Don Miguel.  John intends to strip you down to your birthday suit—­fairly, of course—­so keep up the good work, and everything may still turn out right for you.  I’ll cheer for you, at any rate.”

“Thank you, dear Mrs. Parker.”  Don Miguel slipped into his seat at the head of the table.  “I have also attached Loustalot’s new automobile,”

“You Shylock!  What else?” Mrs. Parker demanded eagerly.

“About ten thousand sheep, more or less.  I attached these on suspicion, although the burden of proving that Loustalot owns them will be upon me.  However,” he concluded, with a bright glance at Parker, “I believe that can readily be accomplished—­with your aid.”

“I shall be the poorest witness in the world, Mr. Farrel.”

“Well, I shall see to it, Mr. Parker, that you are given an opportunity to tell the judge of the Superior Court in El Toro why Loustalot called on you this morning, why a great band of sheep is trespassing on the Rancho Palomar, why Loustalot drew a check in your favor for fifty thousand dollars, why you declined to take it, what you said to Loustalot this morning to cause him to steal one of my horses in his anxiety to get off the ranch, why your attorneys drew up a certain lease of the grazing-privilege to Loustalot, and why the deal fell through.”

Parker flushed.

“Can you produce that fifty-thousand-dollar check?  I happen to know it has not been cashed.”