“Yes, Mr. Royal,” said Ruth, puzzled. “Why the delay?”
“Well, you see, I hadn’t any money. I had to write to—to my partner. Ahem! I had to get money through my partner. I was afraid to file on the claim for fear the news would spread and the whole ridge be overrun with prospectors before I could be sure of mine.”
“And what you considered yours was the cream of it all,” repeated Min, quickly.
“Well! I found it, didn’t I?” he demanded.
“We were going to do the same thing ourselves,” Ruth said. “Let us be fair, Min.”
“But this feller means to git it all,” snapped the prospector’s daughter, nodding at “the hermit.”
“It means a lot to me—this business,” the young man muttered. “More than I can tell you. It means everything to me.”
He spoke so earnestly that the trio felt uncomfortable. Even Min did not seem able to ask another personal question. Her father drawled:
“Seems to me I seen you ’round Yucca, didn’t I, Mister?”