Gordon looked in vain for the "later letter" to which Bartolomé referred. Either it had never been written or it had been destroyed. But without it he had enough to go on.
Before he left the State House he made a proposal to Miss Underwood to buy the letters from her.
"What do you want with a bunch of old letters?" she asked.
"One of them helps my case. The Don refers to the grant and says he has relinquished his claim."
She nodded at him with brisk approval. "It's fair of you to tell me that." The girl stood for a moment considering, a pencil pressed against her lips. "I suppose the letters are not mine to give. They belong to father. Better see him."
"Where?"
"At the office of the New Mexican. Or you can come to the house to-night."
"Believe I'll see him right away."
Within half an hour Dick had bought the bundle of letters for five hundred dollars. He returned to the State House with an order to Kate Underwood to deliver them to him upon demand.
"Dad make a good bargain?" asked Miss Underwood, with a laugh.