"Why, the whole thing, according to this paper, is scheduled to be settled a week from to-day." "You can get to 'Frisco before then!" exclaimed Innis. "Yes, I know I can, but what good will it do me? I can't file these papers before the date set. You see they've stolen a march on us. Uncle Ezra has had his lawyers act and they've brought matters to a head sooner than was expected. "These legal papers I have are useless after all our work in saving them, and Wardell's fortune will be lost! Hang it all! Did you ever see such bad luck?" and Dick vigorously shook the newspaper he had picked up on the desert. CHAPTER XXVII THE MAN IN THE DESERT "Say, Dick," requested Paul, "just calm down a bit, and sort of explain things." "Yes, he's got me going," added Innis, pausing in the act of frying some eggs for supper. "Why, it's plain enough," said Dick. "Here is a piece of a San Francisco paper, and it has in it an account of this railroad lawsuit. The case come up in 'Frisco, you know," he added. "The paper was probably tossed out of the car window by some man who got tired of it, and I almost wish I hadn't found it." "Why?" Paul wanted to know. "Because it makes me feel bad. To think that all my hard work is thrown away." "But is it?" asked Innis. "It looks so. This is how I figure it out. As soon as Uncle Ezra finds out he couldn't block my game to save Mr. Wardell's fortune by getting the legal papers away from me, he starts off on a new tack. He has his lawyers look up other means for getting control of this railroad, and they find one, it seems. "From what I can gather, by reading this article, a new witness has cropped up. He gave testimony in court that knocks out Wardell, and makes his claim valueless. Under the new ruling, Uncle Ezra and those associated with him can go ahead and, inside of a week, get possession of the railroad stock so that Mr. Wardell can't redeem it. "You see, it was this way: This Wardell had this stock left to him by his father. It was worth considerable. In fact, it virtually made him owner of the railroad, though of course he didn't operate it. Then, foolishly, he puts up that stock as security for a loan with Uncle Ezra, and invests the money in something else. "He loses it--I guess Uncle Ezra intended he should, and of course if he can't pay it back Uncle Ezra will get the railroad. But from what my dad and I understood there was a time limit set by which Wardell would have another show for his white alley--I mean that he'd get a chance to go to court, and say he had been cheated and would like more time to raise the money to buy back his railroad stock.