intent on locating the brief item he remembered having seen in the
newspaper. He wanted to act on his plan before the stranger returned.
Frank's eye ran over column after column, page after page.

"Got it," he breathed at last, and neatly tore out of place an item near
the bottom of a page. It told of a swindle astoundingly perpetrated by a
gang of confidence men in the city where the paper was published. The
scheme was to induce greenhorns to invest in or loan money on mining stock
of some companies that had no existence except on paper. The Little Wonder
Bonanza Mining & Milling Company of Arizona headed the list of the
worthless concerns.

"Quick--before the man comes back, read that," said Frank, leaning over the
seat in front of him and placing the clipping in the hands of the former.

"Hey! What----"

"And then give it to him to read," added Frank with a chuckle.

"Hemlock and asparagus!" ejaculated the farmer as his glance ran over the
item. "A bunko man, eh? And I was nearly gulled!"

"Well, friend," spoke the swindler suavely, returning down the aisle, "how
about that little loan? You'll have to decide quick, for this is my station
they're coming to."

"I see 'tis," responded the farmer, arising with a grim face that should
have warned the man, who had taken him for an easy victim. "Say, you
measly, flaggerbusted scrub, read that!"