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"I am Joseph Ranger, my boy! And I have come here all the way from the farthest West. But sit down here on the edge of your bed, and tell me all about it."

"You remember the Indian maiden, Le-Le, whom I purchased and ransomed?"

"Yes/ "And you recall the fact that I left her with her brother, Siwash, at my Green River cave at the time I came to you?"

"I remember that you said so."

"Can you recall the date of my visit to you at the trading-post?"

"No; but there must be memoranda somewhere that will settle that. Why?"

"Because nothing will save me, Joseph, from the hangman's rope unless I can prove an alibi. I forwarded a letter to you at Oregon City—or tried to—after this mishap befell me; but a courier can be bribed sometimes, you know, and Henry Hankins, who failed to capture my bride, is bent upon revenge. His incarceration doesn't keep him out of reach of pals. But how is my bonnie Jean?"

"I left home too hurriedly to get much information. But her father said she was strangely calm, and full of faith in you."

"Then my darling is not ill?"

"I certainly did not leave her well, Ashleigh, but she is in good hands. Do you know the particulars of Le-Le's death?"

"I only know that her body was found in an eddy in Green River about a fortnight after I last saw her. Just as I was on the eve of starting to Oregon to claim my bride, I was arrested, charged with murder, and brought to this villanous den."

"Be of good cheer, Ashleigh; I will find Siwash. Say nothing to any one. The darkest hour of the night is just before the morning. Good-bye, and may God bless you I "