Down the Slope

Then Mr. Hunter left the office in great haste, and Fred and Joe looked at each other in dismay.

CHAPTER XXXIII

VICTORIOUS

The lawyer did not return for several hours, and then he said:

"I have sent for surveyors, and we will run our own lines early to-morrow morning, after which an officer shall be stationed there to warn him from encroaching. You must be on the spot as early as possible to attend to matters."

"He'll find us when the sun comes up. Was this why you sent the telegram?"

"I wanted to discover what he meant by the hiring of carpenters and the ordering of lumber; but that you have already done."

"When will the case be tried?"

"Next week I think; but that is of minor importance just now. The supposed location of the purchase is to be pointed out to the surveyors, therefore one of you must remain here until they arrive.

"When do you expect them?"

"On the first train to-morrow."

"Fred can wait for 'em, an' I'll leave in time to get there by daylight."

"Very well; make your preparations to stay until I send word that it is no longer necessary."

Joe and Fred left the office to purchase such provisions as might be needed while holding possession of the disputed property, and when this had been done the question arose as to how word could be sent to Bill.

"The story is too long for a telegram," Fred said, "so suppose we say by wire that there is nothing particularly new, and write a letter?"

"Go ahead. I ain't much of a fist with a pen, so while you're tellin' the yarn I'll send the message."

Joe retired early in order to be in readiness for the journey, and Fred was not awake when, shortly after midnight, he slipped out of the house.

It was not an easy matter to find his way in the darkness; but he finally succeeded after straying from the right course several times, and was thoroughly astonished at finding half a dozen men already in possession.

A small amount of lumber was scattered here and there, as if placed in readiness to be used, and a temporary camp had been erected close beside the coal vein.

The men had but just awakened when he arrived, and in reply to his angry question of why they were there, one of them asked impudently:

"What business is it of yours?"

"I happen to own a quarter of this land, an' it'll be hot for all hands if there's any attempt at puttin' up a building."

"It'll take us about two minutes to clean you out, an' we'll do it, if you so much as yip again."

Joe was literally trembling with rage. He fancied a portion of his title to the tract would be lost, if he did not drive the intruders away, and before the spokesman had time to defend himself against an attack, the miner knocked him headlong with one well-directed blow. Then, picking up an axe which lay near by, he made such a furious onslaught upon the remainder of the party that they scattered in every direction.

Instead of following, he chopped and tore at the camp until it was demolished, and then destroyed all the provisions it had contained, in addition to pounding into shapeless masses the tin cooking utensils.

By this time the carpenters got their scattered forces together and were marching in a body against the man who had put them to flight.

In the immediate vicinity of the camp were stored nearly all the tools, and, standing over these, Joe shouted:

"As true as my name's Brace I'll kill the first man who comes here," and he brandished the axe above his head.

"Don't be a fool!" some one cried. "What can you do against the crowd?"

"Split open the head of the first who comes within strikin' distance. After that has been done you may manage to get the best of me; but one is sure to go down – which shall it be?"

None of the party cared to prove the truth of Joe's threat, and they fell back a short distance, giving him an opportunity to intrench himself behind the fragments of the camp.

The miner took care to gather the tools around him so they could not be seized in case a sudden rush was made, and then, as he afterward said, "read the riot act" to the trespassers.

Matters were in this condition when Fred and the surveyors arrived.

The carpenters were seated on the ground a short distance away, while Joe remained perched on the ruins of the hut calmly smoking his pipe; but prepared for any attack, however sudden.

"Go back to Blacktown and tell the lawyer to send some officers," the miner cried, "These beauties are countin' on buildin' a house right here, I'll hold 'em off till they can be arrested."

"Oh, yes you will," one of the party shouted. "Wait till the crowd get here from Farley's, an' then we'll see who runs this place."

Joe brandished his axe, as an intimation of what he was prepared to do, and cried to Fred who stood in silent astonishment a few paces away:

"Hurry on, lad, there's no time to be lost!"

This roused Fred to a sense of the necessity for immediate action, and he started off at full speed.

The surveyors thinking quite naturally that they were not included in the hostilities, made ready to perform the work for which they had been engaged; but no sooner were the instruments set up than the carpenters made a dash at them, crying:

"If we have to lay still you shall do the same. Stand back an' wait till Mr. Wright comes."

"Stick to your job, an' if one will help me, I'll get rid of the whole boiling," Joe cried as he advanced.

"Look here, my friend," the elder of the surveying party said in a low tone, "I understand something about this fight, and don't propose to get mixed up in what isn't really any of my business. We'll run the lines, if nobody molests us; but won't put ourselves out to do it."

"Then I can't count on you?"

"Not at all; this is too serious business for us to be involved in. If you want to buy a good revolver, though, I'll sell one cheap, and take my pay when we meet in Blacktown.

"You're a brick," Joe cried, enthusiastically. "Give me the shooter, an' I'll guarantee to pay any price for it."

The weapon was delivered, and the miner left his fortification, marching directly toward the enemy.

"I give you a fair warnin' to clear out," he said, leveling the revolver. "This is my land, an' I order every one to leave. These surveyors are here to run the lines for my partners an' me. The first who interferes with em' will get a ball. I ain't talkin' foolish, for you know the law will uphold me in defendin' my own. Now begin the job," he added, to the surveying party, "an' we'll see who wants to have trouble."

This argument was understood by Mr. Wright's adherents, and they kept at a respectful distance, while the others did their work.

New stakes were set up without any regard to those already in position, and the labor had but just been completed when the superintendent and two members of his company arrived.