"I don't know who set your shed on fire," he told the couple. "And I don't know who opened the floodgate. But I know the director wanted that spring badly enough to tell us to keep the ranch account separate from the others."
The rancher clenched his jaw. His wife rested a hand on his arm. He took a slow breath and asked the clerk whether the director had ever explained his interest. The clerk remembered a conversation about industrial water and a railway route that would be much cheaper if the ranch could be purchased at a forced sale. He did not claim to know all the terms. The attorney made a careful note of what he could testify to personally and what he'd merely overheard.
They thanked him. Before leaving, the bride asked whether he had another position. He shook his head. He expected to lose his job once the director learned he'd spoken. She knew the temptation to offer him employment immediately; the workshop could always use clerical help. But a sudden appointment might undermine the apparent independence of his testimony. She suggested he speak with the attorney about his options and offered to provide general references for commercial work after the matter was resolved. He seemed relieved by her restraint.
On the journey home, the rancher stared toward the hills. "You could have promised that boy the world."
"That would have made him another man dependent on what I wanted him to say. He needs honest choices, not a new master."
Her husband looked at her with deep affection. "I keep discovering reasons to love you."
She smiled. "Then keep a ledger. You'll forget them otherwise."
He laughed, took her hand, and kissed it.
The legal dispute moved into a more formal stage. The attorney filed evidence challenging the timber lien, sought examination of the originals, and placed the discrepancies in the survey and freight records before the proper court. He also notified counsel for the bank and the railway promoters that the ranch's water access was not available through the disputed documents. The bank director responded with a furious letter accusing the couple of obstructing economic development and damaging the community's reputation.