“Well, that other fellow is,” declared “the hermit,” “Let me tell you that my partner’s gone to Kingman to have the claims recorded. They are so by this time. If you try to jump ’em——”
“Who’s tryin’ to jump anything?” demanded Min, now coming back from examining the notices on the stakes. “Which are you—this here ‘E’ or ‘R’yal?’”
“Royal is my name,” said the man, gruffly.
“Brothers, I s’pose?” said Min.
The young man stared at her wonderingly. “I declare!” he finally exclaimed. “You’re a girl, aren’t you?”
“No matter who or what I am,” said Min Peters, tartly. “You needn’t think you can stake out all this ledge just because you found it first—maybe.”
It was evident that both Flapjack and his daughter considered the appearance of this claimant to the supposedly richest options on the ledge most unfortunate.
“I know my rights and the law,” said the young man quite as truculently as before. “If it’s necessary I’ll stay here and watch those stakes till my—my partner gets back with the men and machinery that are hired to open up these claims.”
“By mighty!” groaned Flapjack. “The hull thing will be spread through Arizony in the shake of a sheep’s hind laig.”
“Well, what of it? You can stake out claims as we did,” snapped “the hermit.” “We are not trying to hog it all.”