“Suits me exactly,” he agreed.

Her lithe, long body moved beside him gracefully, its every motion perfectly synchronized.  In her close-fitting, stylish gown she was extremely handsome.  There was a kind of proud defiance in the set of her oval jaw, as though even in the trouble that involved her she was a creature set apart from others.

“Mr. Lane has a question he wants to ask you, Jack,” she said when they were in the inner office.

Kirby smiled, and in his smile there were friendliness and admiration.  “First off, I have to apologize for some things I said two days ago.  I’ll eat humble pie.  I accused you of somethin’.  You’re not the man, I’ve found out.”

“Yes?” Jack, standing behind his desk in the slim grace of well-dressed youth, watched him warily.

“We’ve found out at last who the man is.”

“Indeed!” Jack knew that Esther McLean had been found by her friends and taken away.  No doubt she had told them her story.  Did the cattleman mean to expose James before the woman he knew to be his wife?  That wouldn’t be quite what he would expect of Lane.

“Incidentally, I have some news for you.  One of your uncle’s stenographers, a Miss McLean, has just been married to a friend of mine, the champion rough rider.  Perhaps you may have heard of him.  His name is Cole Sanborn.”

Jack did not show the great relief he felt.  “Glad to hear it,” he said simply.

“Did we come here to discuss stenographers?” asked the young woman with a little curl of the lip.  “You mentioned a question, Mr. Lane.  Hadn’t we better get that out of the way?”

Kirby put to Jack the same query he had addressed to her.

“What’s the drift of this?  What do you want to prove?” Jack asked curtly.

The eyes in the brown face plunged deep into those of Jack Cunningham.  “Not a thing.  I’ve finished my case, except for a detail or two.  Within two hours the murderer of Uncle James will be arrested.  I’m offerin’ you a chance to come through with what you know before it’s too late.  You can kick in if you want to.  You can stay out if you don’t.  But don’t say afterward I didn’t give you a chance.”

“What kind of a chance are you giving me?  Let’s get clear on that.  Are you proposing I turn state’s evidence on James?  Is that what you’re driving at?”

“Did James kill Uncle James?”

“Of course he didn’t, but you may have it in that warped mind of yours that he did.”

“What I think doesn’t matter.  All that will count is the truth.  It’s bound to come out.  There are witnesses that saw you come to the Paradox, a witness that actually saw you in uncle’s rooms.  If you don’t believe me, I’ll tell you somethin’.  When you an’ Miss Harriman came into the room where my uncle had been killed, James was sittin’ at the desk lookin’ over papers.  A gun was lyin’ close by his hand.  Miss Harriman nearly fainted an’ you steadied her.”