"Not by a jugful!" objected Sol. "That girl"s filed on her water rights in this little draw, when her claim was recorded." He ran rapid eye along the Golden Prize surface. "And I reckon there doesn"t any water go with that other prospect, anyhow! I"ve an idee the hundred feet ends short of the water."
"So have I," a.s.serted Harry. "Give me room, gentlemen. Just to prove that my notion"s correct I"ll measure. That claim was only stepped off, in the beginning."
Harry fished a surveyor"s tape from his pocket (evidently he had come prepared) and from the first claim stake, near the cabin, measured the length of the Golden Prize ground. The one hundred feet ended three yards away from the little stream course!
"The two properties join, so that puts the natural water on the True Blue ground," triumphantly proclaimed Sol.
"Mebbe, when thar is water; but thar won"t be any after we"ve started to use again on our other workin"s up at the head," retorted the giant.
"You tried that once, but you can"t do it a second time. We"ve filed our rights on the water coming down this draw, and here it is, and by miners" law we"re ent.i.tled to our share."
"So are we, then, by thunder!" shouted the giant. "As long as there"s water flowin" past, we"re goin" to have some of it. That"s miners" law, too. We can ditch some of it over----"
"No, you can"t!" A new voice struck in, and a new figure appeared.
Archie Smith! He held his side and panted for breath.
"What _you_ got to do with it? Why can"t we?"
"Because you couldn"t have bought this claim even if you paid over the money. Do you want to sell? Do you want them for neighbors?" demanded Archie of Harry.
"We should say not!"
"Well, then," resumed Archie, panting, and addressing the Pine Knot Ike party, "you didn"t buy the Golden Prize, because you couldn"t. The boys didn"t own it. They wouldn"t take it from me; they said they"d work it while I was gone, and now I"m back and I won"t sell--to _you_. And I order you to get off."
Terry looked blankly at Harry, Harry smiled at Terry.
"That"s so." And it was so, now that they thought.
"B" gorry, the same thing happened to me," announced the voice of Pat Casey, "an" Oi lost me diggin"s. Sure, it doesn"t seem fair play--though Oi"m a friend to the boys."
"It is fair play, in this case," a.s.serted Sol. "You see, gentlemen," he said to the crowd, "these two boys, Harry and Terry, came in here and proceeded to work this ground. They had the water and they hustled to put in a sluice, and were beginning to wash out pay dirt, when those mean whelps, suspecting these prospects were richer than they looked to be, turned off the water to which this ground naturally was ent.i.tled--just hogged it, made the waste run the other way, to render these claims useless so they might either be jumped or bought for a song. The same whelps sneaked around, prospecting, until they located some of the richest gold quartz you ever laid your eyes on; then they told the boys the ground was no good, anyway--mostly pockets and barren bed-rock, had no water, and all that sort of thing--and tried to get "em to move, for $100. But the boys stuck, so as to pay off a debt. One of them sold pies and the other worked for a dollar and a half a day. Then, while they were temporarily absent, these whelps jumped both claims--and look at the rock they"ve already taken out!"
"B" gorry, they ought to be hanged!" declared Pat Casey. "The lads are honest lads, Oi"ll say that for "em. An" if somebody"ll fetch a rope----"
"No, no, gentlemen," appealed Sol, as the crowd began to surge angrily.
"When the dirty deal was started there was no law in the camp; but you have laws now, and if those fellows want to fight we"ll fight them with law. But they"re licked, and they know it."
"Waal," conceded Pine Knot Ike, "if we"re licked I reckon we"re licked, an" no hard feelin"s. We air men o" peace. We bought this hyar property in good faith, but bein" as the other party ain"t satisfied we"ll take our hundred dollars in dust an" move off."
"Where"s their dust, Terry?" asked Harry.
"Hold on a bit," objected Mr. Richards. "Hold on! How much gold have they taken out already, since they jumped these prospects? They"ve been running that sluice for at least a couple of days."
"We"ll leave you that thar pile o" sluice tailin"s; it"s too coa.r.s.e for washin"," replied the giant. "And thar"s a clean-up waitin", in the sluice. But you got to give us back the hundred dollars" purchase price, an" do it mighty quick."
"Don"t rile us," warned Ike.
"I"ll tell you what I"ll do, Ike," spoke Harry. "We"ll be fair. I"ll wrestle you for that $100. If you throw me, you can have it, and if I throw you we can keep it. You"ve already got more than that out of this ground--but we want to be fair."
"Don"t you do it, Harry!" protested Father Richards. "There"s no need of such foolishness."
"That"s what I say," added Mr. Stanton. "We won"t allow it."
"I know what I"m about," replied Harry, with a wink at Terry and George and the breathless Archie.
"Young feller," solemnly said Ike, "I ekcept, ketch as ketch can, but keep back your dog. I air a tough proposition in a wrestle, but I don"t aim to come to grips with man and dog at the same time."
Harry alertly threw aside his hat and stepped forward; Ike did the like.
"David an" Goliath!" cheered the crowd; and indeed the match did resemble that, with Harry so slight and slim and the s.h.a.ggy Ike appearing to be a foot taller and a foot broader.
"Has he any show? Do you think he _can_ throw him?" whispered Archie--referring, of course, to Harry.
"Sure he can," a.s.serted Terry. "Can"t he, George?"
"He usually does what he sets out to do," agreed George.
Now, arms half out-stretched and shoulders forward, Harry and Ike were circling each other, in watchful, eager fashion. Ike rushed--"Look out, Harry!"--but Harry dodged. Ike rushed again; this time, quick as light, Harry darted to meet him, and they were locked--locked with arms and legs, while they tugged and swayed and Ike grunted, and their boots crunched upon the rocks and gravel.
"Harry"s got the under hold!" gasped Terry.
"Yes, but Ike"ll break him in two!" gasped George.
Virgie was crying and calling, Shep was barking, the spectators were shouting all sorts of advice. And swallowed in Ike"s great arms, Harry seemed quite helpless, simply clinging to Ike"s waist, with his face pressed against Ike"s shirt, and letting Ike dash him hither-thither, trying to upset him.
But somehow, Harry always landed on his feet. Once he was lifted clear in air--only to come down again with a thump. Twice he was lifted--this time actually by the seat of the trousers! Ike tried to pull him in and bend him backwards, but Harry stiffened and bowed his back. Then suddenly he did come in--but lightning fast, he side-stepped a little, thrust himself part way past Ike, stopped farther, and, shifting his grip to Ike"s thighs, tilted and heaved.
Up rose Ike, pawing and kicking--up, a foot off the ground, and over Harry he shot, almost horizontal, like a diver from a spring-board, to plough the ground beyond with his shoulder.
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
"That war a trick!" scolded Ike, sitting up and rubbing his tousled head.
"All right," answered Harry, panting and laughing. "We"ll make it two falls out of three, then. I"ve a couple more tricks."
"No, young feller," grumbled Ike, still rubbing his head. "I can wrestle a b"ar, but I ain"t built for wrestlin" ary combination of eel an"
alligator tail. If you"re a schoolmaster, what"ll you take to teach me that holt?"
"That"s not for sale, either," laughed Harry. "But here"s your sack of dust. We don"t want it, after all." Thus saying, he tossed over the buckskin sack, and limped to get his hat from Terry.
So the result was that the Pine Knot Ike party left good-naturedly, and the crowd dispersed good-naturedly, and the Golden Prize and the True Blue claims remained in undisputed possession of the victors; all of which was better than threats of further row.
Harry shook hands with Archie. It was his first opportunity.
"Have you come back to stay? Hope so. It"s your mine, you know--and it"s going to be a rich one; richer than you ever imagined, if that vein from the True Blue extends through. We"ll help you work it while we"re working the True Blue, but the True Blue"s enough for us."
"I don"t care. It"s yours, just the same. I gave it to you once and I give it to you again," insisted Archie. "This time I"ll make out a regular transfer. I"m here just for a little visit, and then I"m going back East to stay a while."