Six weeks before Ned Napier and Alan Hope had set out on this trip
Ned had been the surprised recipient of a mysterious note. In this
message, written on the stationery of the Annex Hotel, he was urged
to call on the writer the next morning at ten o'clock. With his
mother's approval he had kept the engagement. The events which
followed will explain how Ned came to take his momentous journey to
the far southwest.

Promptly on the hour Ned presented himself at the office desk. A
clerk with a handful of letters gave him a half glance and turned
away.

"I say," began Ned in a voice that made the clerk turn quickly, "I
want some information."

The man stepped forward, leaned over the counter far enough to get a
full view of his questioner, and answered:

"All right, sonny. What can I do for you?"

"You can tell me if Major Baldwin Honeywell is staying here."

"Friend of Major Baldwin's?" asked the clerk, his smile broadening.

"If Major Honeywell is stopping here I suppose he is paying well for
his entertainment," replied Ned after a moment's pause.

"Sure," answered the facetious clerk, "regular rates."

"Perhaps that ought to include civil attention to those he has