"Now look-ee here," and the giant tapped his revolver b.u.t.t: "By miners"
law we"re ent.i.tled to a share o" what water comes down our gulch, an" by miners" law you"re ent.i.tled to a share o" what water comes down your gulch, alluz considerin" there"s any to share. If your claim was wuth a picayune I"d advise you to hold on till next spring, when mebbe you"d get a leetle water again from natteral drainage; but as it ain"t wuth a picayune I"d advise you to get off an" look elsewhar. Anyhow, you get off this ground mighty quick; for if you"re huntin" trouble you"ll find it in a bigger dose than you can handle."
"It looks to me like a deliberate scheme to run us off," began Harry, hotly. But he checked himself. "Come on, Terry," he bade.
"Did you see Pine Knot Ike?" exclaimed Terry, as they returned, with heads up, to their own ground. "I did--he was down below, with another man."
"Yes, I saw him." Back at their sluice again they stood undecided. Harry scratched his long nose and surveyed about. "Confound "em! It"s a dirty mean trick. If they"d change the head of their sluice ever so little we"d have enough water and so would they. But they"ve fixed it so that when they shut off to clean up the water all flows the other way. Let"s see. We can get water for the cabin from that creek down below. Might pan with it, too--only we"d spend most of our time carrying the dirt down or the water up."
But when they went down to the creek, to investigate, they were curtly told by a camper there that his claim and others extended all along on both sides, and that they were ent.i.tled to the water themselves.
"You can help yourselves to drinking water, and that"s all," he granted.
"I"m sorry, strangers, but if you"re on a dry prospect I reckon you"d better get out."
"Not yet!" retorted Harry. "Not," he added to Terry, "as long as we can make _pie_! Come on. We"ll find Pat."
They had not seen Pat Casey for several days. As they descended the gulch, it seemed busier and more crowded than ever. Five thousand people were here now, according to report, and all the surrounding gulches were thronged, also. Sluices were running, others were being set up--and the thought of their own dry, useless sluice, and the gold that _must_ be waiting, and the way they had worked to prepare for getting it, made Terry half sick. His father would laugh, and George would be a pest.
Yes, George would poke all manner of fun at them.
Pat wasn"t where they had expected to find him.
"Pat Casey? The red-headed Irishman, you mean? He"s across yonder, and he"s struck it rich. You"ll find him over there, strangers, washing out $50 and more a day."
So Pat had moved. He was waist deep in a trench that showed signs of soon being a tunnel; and when from the brink they hailed him, he clambered out. All mud and perspiration was Pat.
"B" gorry, Oi"m glad to see yez," said Pat. "Oi"ve been thinkin" o" yez, but what with gettin" rich Oi"ve no time for calls. Oi bought out the men who were gopherin" here, an" now the deeper Oi go the richer Oi am.
Sure, yez are lookin" at a millionaire, "most. An" how are things with you boys?"
They told him. Pat scratched his head.
"Too bad, too bad. An" a dirty trick. But, faith, there ain"t water enough to go "round, an" that"s a fact; not sayin", though, that they"re actin" square, at all. For they ain"t. Are yez in need?" He winked.
"Jist come into me house a minute."
He led them into his bough hut, and from underneath his bunk fished out an oyster can.
"Heft it, wance," he invited.
It was heavy.
"Help yourselves, lads," he insisted.
But Harry laughed.
"Not yet, thanks, Pat. We"ve got a little to tide us along. What I want to know is, how"s your appet.i.te for pie?"
"Two dollars apiece for pie, an" two pies a day: wan for breakfast an"
wan for supper; an" on Sunday wan for dinner besides," promptly answered Pat.
"It"s a go," p.r.o.nounced Harry.
"Will it take the both o" yez to make pie?" queried Pat. "Sure, ye look like a husky boy," he said, to Terry. "Let your partner make the pies, an" ye turn your hand to helpin" me at the sluice. Oi need another good worker. Oi fired the wan Oi had only this very mornin" because he sat down too frequent. Oi"ll give ye a dollar an" a half a day, an" ye can fetch down me pies."
"That"s a bargain," accepted Terry. "Wait till I get my spade."
When he and Harry arrived again at their own property they found the giant there. He was standing in their hole, and inquisitively poking about.
"Here! What are you doing?" challenged Harry.
"No harm meant," apologized the giant. "But you"re down to bed-rock an"
that"s a fact. Still, a man might wash out a little dust, from spots, I reckon, if he had the water. Now, the truth is we"re sorry for you boys.
You"ve put consider"ble time an" labor in on this prospect, an" we"re willin" to do the right thing. How"ll you sell?"
"For how much?" demanded Harry.
"The property"s no good to you; never would amount to anything great anyhow; it"s too rocky. But I"ll tell you what we"ll do: We"ll give you $100 for your claim, to save hard feelin"s, an" we"ll take the chance o"
pannin" out enough when there"s water, to pay us back. I expec" we"ll lose, but we"d rather lose than have the hard feelin"s. You get the hundred dollars an" the experience."
"We"ll keep the experience and the claim, too; eh, Terry?" Harry answered. "And there"s something you men can keep: you can keep _off_.
What"s that in your hand? A piece of our rock? Drop it!"
[Ill.u.s.tration: "THE GIANT SAT DOWN WITH AN EXPLOSIVE GRUNT, AND HARRY STOOD OVER, SCARCELY PANTING, REVOLVER DANGLING IN HAND"]
"c.o.c.k-a-doodle-do!" jeered the giant. "Mebbe I picked up this rock here an" mebbe I picked it up somewheres else. But I drop it when I get ready. You crow mighty loud for a young rooster without any spurs."
The giant was standing confidently agrin, resting at ease on one leg, his hand on his hip--but he did not know Harry. With a single jump Harry had reached him, quicker than the eye could follow had jerked the revolver from its scabbard and at the same time with a twist of the foot had knocked loose the propping leg. The giant sat down with an explosive grunt, and Harry stood over, scarcely panting, revolver dangling in hand.
"We wear our spurs on the inside, like a cat"s claws," he said. "Now you sit there till you drop that piece of rock."
But the giant looked so ugly and menacing, as he glared about, that Terry flew to the cabin for the shot-gun. He was back with it in a jiffy--and the giant was already slowly rising to his feet. He had dropped the piece of rock.
""Tisn"t wuth sheddin" blood for," he grunted. "Your hull property isn"t wuth the lead in a bullet. But I admit you did for me mighty clever.
Where"d you l"arn that trick?"
"We"re as full of tricks as you are," retorted Harry. "Here"s your gun.
You needn"t keep him covered, Terry. He"s going."
"Then you refuse our offer, do you?"
"Yes. You can"t buy even the privilege of walking across this land for a hundred dollars or a thousand dollars."
"All right. You can squat here till you starve an" dry up, then. Mebbe you have the trick o" livin" on nothin", but I doubt it. I"d like to know that wrestlin" trip, though--I"ll give you an ounce o" dust to show me."
"No, you can"t buy that, either," laughed Harry.
"That preacher feller gone away?" queried the giant, with a jerk of the head toward the True Blue claim.
"Yes," said Harry, shortly. "He"s quit."
With a calculating glance around, the giant stalked off. They watched him go. Harry picked up the piece of rock.