Cunningham caught sight of his cousin and anger flushed his face. Without a word he reached for the starter, threw in the clutch, and gave the engine gas.
The rough rider watched the car move down the hill. "I've made a mistake," he told his companion. "I told James I was comin' here to-day. He let Jack know, an' he's beat us to it."
"What harm will that do?" asked Rose. "The information will be there for us, too, won't it?"
"Mebbe it will. Mebbe it won't. We'll soon find out."
Rose caught her friend's arm as they were passing through the hall. "Kirby, do you suppose your cousins really know Esther was married to your uncle? Do you think they can be trying to keep it quiet so she can't claim the estate?"
He stopped in his stride. James had deprecated the idea of his coming to Golden and had ridiculed the possibility of his unearthing any information of value. Yet he must have called up Jack as soon as he had left the office. And Jack had hurried to the town within the hour. It might be that. Rose had hit on the reason for the hostility he felt on the part of both cousins to his activities. There was something they did not want brought to the light of day. What more potent reason could there be for concealment than their desire to keep the fortune of the millionaire in their own hands?
"I shouldn't wonder if you haven't rung the bull's-eye, pardner," he told her. "We ought to know right soon now."
The clerk in the recorder's office smiled when Kirby said he wanted to look through the license register. He swung the book round toward them.
"Help yourself. What's the big idea? Another young fellow was in lookin' at the licenses only a minute ago."
The clerk moved over to another desk where he was typewriting. His back was turned toward them. Kirby turned the pages of the book. He and Rose looked them over together. They covered the record for three months without finding anything of interest. Patiently they went over the leaves again.