"Supposing we don't go?" asked Billy, and Frank understood that his chum was seeking to gain time, though for what reason he could not fathom.
"If you don't you may get hurt," was the menacing answer. "My friends won't stand for any nonsense."
"And how do you know just where my uncle's land ends, and what you claim is yours begins?" went on Billy, and now the two Racer boys understood their chum's reason for questioning the man. He hoped to catch sight of the others who were with him. He wanted to see if he could recognize any of them.
"How do I know?" asked the man with the gun. "Because it's all been staked out; see?" and he pointed to a row of wooden pegs that marked off a ten foot strip which led in through the open place in the dam.
"So that's who those fellows were that followed us the day we got here," said Billy, in a low voice. "Surveyors—and they did their work in a hurry, marked out the strip in dispute, and went back to town by a different route."
"I guess that's right," agreed Frank.
"Well, are you going to vamoose?" asked the man, coming a pace nearer.
"I suppose we'll have to," agreed Billy. "But I want to tell you that you fellows are making a big mistake. My uncle has a valid claim to this land, and he'll enforce it, too. Then it will be you who'll have to get out—not us."
"All right. When the time comes—if it ever does—we'll slide," sneered the man.
"What's the trouble?" inquired a voice, and turning, the boys saw a tall man, with a handsome, if evil face, leering at them.