“What sort of men?”
“Well, they were a mighty hard-looking crowd. They came up to the claim and wanted to know where he was. I told them that he was gone to Europe and that I did not know where to find him. They meant him no good—it was easy to see that.”
“Were these men Americans—Californians?”
“Well, I don’t know about Californians. They were Americans, all right. But they were not miners. I don’t know what they were, and was very glad to see their backs.”
“That was six years ago?”
“Nearer seven.”
“And then you were together five years in California, so that this business dates back not less than eleven years at the least?”
“That is so.”
“It must be a very serious feud that would be kept up with such earnestness for as long as that. It would be no light thing that would give rise to it.”
“I think it shadowed his whole life. It was never quite out of his mind.”