"Aw, shucks!" sheepishly said Terry to George. "Guess we weren"t so smart as we thought we were. Now Pine Knot Ike"s there and maybe we can"t get him off."
"Well, he may a.s.sert you abandoned the claims, but Sol knows all the mining laws and we"ve got right on our side," consoled his father.
When they arrived at the spot, Sol and the Pine Knot Ike party were hotly arguing.
CHAPTER XXII
THE "VIRGINIA CONSOLIDATED"
"According to miners" law of this gulch or any other district," was declaring Sol, "when a party can"t work a lode claim by reason of lack of water or proper machinery, they"ve a right to let it lie a certain length of time; can go out, and come back to it again, in the meanwhile."
"Yes, mebbe so," returned the giant. "But they got to give their intentions to the recorder, an" there ain"t any such intentions on file."
"There are, too--or there ought to be," contradicted Terry, freshly excited. "I told the recorder myself--didn"t I, George? I told him what was the matter, and that we were going away, and I told him to record the claims, and he said he would till we got back."
"Oh, you did, did you!" rasped the giant. "That"ll do for talk, but whar"s the proof?"
"When did you see the recorder, Terry?" asked his father.
"The very night before we left. He said the books were locked up, but he"d remember."
"Sure he was the recorder?"
"Of course he was. He"d just been elected. He"s the "Root Hog or Die"
professor. I know him and so does Harry."
"That"s the man!" exclaimed Harry. "I"ll go and get him." And away sped Harry.
"Furthermore and besides and notwithstanding, we"ve regularly bought this hyar property, and thar"s the witness to the transaction,"
continued the giant, pointing to George. "We paid the price and it"s been accepted, and when money has changed hands, that settles things."
Attracted by the dispute, other gulch people had begun to gather.
"That"s right," p.r.o.nounced two or three.
Terry felt his heart sink. Had he made a botch of the matter, with his hurry? George also was frightened, for he had paled.
"What property do you think you"ve bought, then?" demanded Sol.
"Everything: cabin and sluice and all. And you can"t touch "em."
"Where"s the bill of sale?"
"We don"t need any bill o" sale to put us in possession. We"ve paid the money, an" hyar we air," replied Pine Knot Ike. "An" we"re bad when we"re riled. Nothin" riles us like bein" robbed, an" thar"s n.o.body as bad as a man o" peace when once he"s riled, stranger."
"But you couldn"t buy that True Blue prospect," rapped Sol.
"Why not? We took what was offered. The two claims go together. Nothin"
was said different."
"Why not? Because the Golden Prize and the True Blue aren"t owned by the same party; that"s why. The True Blue"s the property of this girl here--has been transferred to her in due legal form, and her father holds it in trust for her, and these boys couldn"t have sold it if they"d wanted to!"
"It _is_ mine," piped Virgie. "It"s been given to me and it"s written down and those mean men sha"n"t touch it. They"re getting it all wet!"
"Whar are your papers an" whar are your witnesses?" challenged the giant.
"There"s one witness," and Mr. Stanton pointed at George. "You heard the words when the claim was given to Virgie, didn"t you?" he asked.
"Yes, I did," affirmed George.
"And that other boy was one of the owners who agreed, and here comes the second former owner who signed the transfer for both."
"Down at Denver, before a notary public," panted Harry, arriving with the "Root Hog or Die" professor. "And it"s been recorded."
"That is true," nodded the "Root Hog or Die" professor. "And I do acknowledge that I was asked to record this other claim also, and that I was told of the intentions and reasons when it was temporarily left unoccupied. I am responsible for there being no official memorandum, but I entirely forgot. However, the verbal agreement is sufficient. I remember perfectly."
"That remains to be seen," growled the giant--who seemed to be the spokesman for the Pine Knot Ike party. "As for that other prospect, we don"t fight gals. It"s a dry claim, anyhow; hasn"t any water of its own an" never will have. As for this claim we"re standin" on, we"ll keep it.
It"s been duly bought, paid for, an" it"s workable, an" that"s enough.
Ain"t I right, boys?" he appealed to the gathering crowd. "When money"s pa.s.sed an" accepted, that binds the sale."
[Ill.u.s.tration: "YOU DARE TO LAY HAND ON THIS OR INTERFERE IN ANY WAY AND I"LL SHOW YOU WHAT A CALIFORNY FORTY-NINER KNOWS ABOUT PROTECTING PROPERTY"]
The crowd shifted and murmured. Plainly, they were not very approving of the Pine Knot Ike party methods, but they had a strong sense of legal rights.
""Pears like it was a deal in good faith," remarked somebody.
"You claim that cabin and everything in it, do you?" inquired Sol.
"Yes, sir! Everything on this hyar ground--fixtures an" improvements, an" don"t you touch a finger to "em," boomed the giant. "You an" your gal have got that dry prospect. Go over an" mine. Mebbe you can mine an"
mebbe you can"t, for you"ll be drier"n ever as soon as we move that sluice to whar it belongs."
"Haw, haw!" gibed Ike and the other man. "You can wait for a dew."
"No! You can wait for that sluice!" retorted Sol. He spurred his horse and in a jiffy was beside it. "You dare to lay hand on this or interfere in any way and I"ll show you what a Californy Forty-niner knows about protecting property."
"Ain"t that our sluice?"
"Not an inch, now. You claim the cabin and all improvements on that other prospect--we claim the sluice and all improvements on this prospect. I reckon what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
This sluice is all on the True Blue ground."
"Hooray!" cheered the willing crowd.
"You"ll have a sluice without water. Mebbe that"s how they mine in Californy!" jeered Pine Knot Ike. "That thar water"s ourn as soon as it comes down the leetle draw ag"in. So we"ll jest natterly turn it off on you."