Allen wandered over to the poker table. Ace Cutts' face was sullen. Ace was a poor gambler, for he became angry and forced his luck. He bluffed wildly and tried to outdraw the other players. Allen watched his chips melt away until the last one was gone. Ace leaped to his feet and went over to Bill Anderson. "I'm busted, Bill; let me have five hundred," he demanded. Anderson's face grew flinty, his eyes hard. "And you'll pay me back out of the sixty a month the judge gives you," he said with a harsh laugh. Ace Cutts' dark face flushed; his eyes grew stormy. He leaned forward as if to whisper something, but Anderson turned away. Ace glared at him, then jammed on his hat and went out to the bar. "Where the hell does he get his money?" some one asked Anderson. The political boss shrugged. "Maybe he signs the judge's name to papers," he suggested. The other nodded. But Allen was not satisfied with this explanation, for he knew that Anderson knew the judge was broke. A little later he walked out of the Red Queen and headed toward the Ransoms' house. As he passed it he whistled softly, then stopped in the shade of some bushes a little farther on. There he was joined by Dutchy. "That was sure a realistic scrap yuh pulled in Maria's," Allen said by way of greeting. "Yuh got what yuh was after?" Dutchy asked. Allen nodded. They whispered together for a few minutes, until Toothpick rode up and dismounted. Without a word he handed his bridle to Allen, who mounted and trotted down the street. "Damn the little cuss! Why doesn't he tell a fellow what he's doin'?" Toothpick said irritably. "So yuh can tell the folks in the Red Queen about it?" Dutchy was scornful. "I'm bettin' he'll find a way through them lava fields." The following morning, when court opened, the room was again packed. The judge took his seat, and the first witness took the stand. The prosecuting attorney, visibly upset, began the questioning. It was apparent at once that the attorney had been "fixed"; he might as well have been the defending lawyer, for he asked only questions that were favorable to the prisoner. The witness looked disappointed when he was excused. He had had something to tell and had not the chance to do it. He had been asked many questions, but none of importance. Another witness took the stand, and the district attorney followed the same tactics. The judge saw Williams frown. The local attorney was making the thing too obvious. The jury glanced at one another and whispered among themselves. But this witness was a pugnacious Irishman, and when he was excused he refused to leave the chair. "Ain't yuh goin' to ask me if Oi seen Pete Cable down that dude?" he roared. The district attorney paled. He glanced appealingly toward Williams. Before he could determine on a line of action, the foreman of the jury decided to question the witness himself. "Did yuh see the prisoner down that dude?" he asked.