“Yes, sir! The Government owns it—they bought it for the Rifle Range.”
“The whole of it?”
“Yes, sir!—from the Point clear up to the Experiment Station.”
Croyden thanked him and passed on.
“That’s the end of the purchase idea!” he said. “I thought it was ’most too good to last.”
“It got punctured very early,” Macloud agreed.
“And the question is, what to do, now? Might the clerk be wrong?”
Macloud shook his head. “There isn’t a chance of it. Titles in a small town are known, particularly, when they’re in the United States. However, 117 it’s easy to verify—we’ll hunt up a real estate office—they’ll know.”
But when they had dressed, and sought a real estate office, the last doubt vanished: it confirmed the clerk.
“If you haven’t anything particularly pressing,” said Macloud, “I suggest that we remain here for a few days and consider what is best to do.”