To the intense surprise of the onlookers, a tall, gray-bearded man, with long, white hair falling about his shoulders, was trying to force his way through the excited throng. Seeming to tower above those around him, the wild grandeur of the new arrival was given an additional picturesqueness by the presence of a gray squirrel standing boldly upright on either shoulder! Few in the room had ever seen the newcomer, though all had heard of Old Solitaire, the mysterious hermit of the Kanawha range. Squire Claverton looked upon him with dismay, demanding: "What means this intrusion?" "I have come to speak for the boy!" cried the strange man. "There is a conspiracy afoot to put him down, but, by the Great Kanawha! it shall not be done. He has——" "Order!" cried Justice Claverton, turning very red in the face. "Order and justice and equal rights!" cried the hermit. "These stories they have told are all false." "Stop!" yelled Claverton. "Are we to be interrupted by a crazy man?" "Put him down!" some one shouted. "Silence!" commanded the sheriff, his words bringing the desired effect. "I will look after this madman," pushing his way through the crowd to the stranger's side. "I am here only in the cause of justice," said the old man, trembling in every limb as he spoke. "The boy has done nothing wrong." "Then he will not be injured," replied Sheriff Brady. "You can go on with your examination if you wish, your honor." Amid a profound silence, Leonard Jones, the private secretary of Mr. Warfield, was asked to tell what he knew about the case, when he stated that his employer, expecting so many letters and not getting them, had sent him to ascertain if they had not been delayed on the route, and that he had learned that three more than he had received had really got as far as the Greenbrier office, after which no trace of them could be found. Mr. Rimmon at this juncture seemed about to speak, but he remained silent, knowing that he had not helped the postboy any by his previous hasty words. Following Mr. Jones' evidence, Dan Shag and two or three others were called upon the stand to testify to such circumstances as they knew in regard to the postboy's last trip. "If it please your honor," said Mr. Rimmon at this juncture, "I think the boy should be given a chance to show why he was late and how he came in as he did." "He shall have the opportunity to speak for himself, Mr. Rimmon. Prisoner at the bar, what have you to say to coming in here an hour after you were due on Wednesday?" "It was unavoidable, sir." "Was it a part of your duty to go off gunning after caves and leaving your mail unprotected for a full hour?" "No, sir." "I thought not." "If it please your honor, I would like to tell how I came to do so." "Your admission that you did so is sufficient. You acknowledge the package of Hollow Tree mail was found in your possession?" "It was taken from the pocket I have on my saddle, but I——"