"And all the time you're chinning, Dolph," broke in Josh, "Jim
Ferrers is riding hard for Dugout City to file the new claim entry!"
"If he is, something may happen to him on the way!" raged Dolph, wheeling about like a flash. His saddle horse, ready for action, stood tied to a tree near by. Gage leaped into his saddle after he had freed the horse.
"Boss, he's going after Ferrers, to do him harm on the road," hoarsely whispered one of Tom's new miners. "Are you going to let the scoundrel start?"
"Yes," nodded Tom coolly, "at Ferrers's special request. He didn't want Gage stopped from trying to overtake him."
Gage was now galloping away.
"You've seen the last of Ferrers," jeered Josh, after Gage had vanished in the distance.
"Perhaps we've seen the last of one of the men," replied Reade coldly.
CHAPTER XIII
JIM TRIES THE NEW WAY
"I've attended to the firm's business," exclaimed Jim Ferrers, wrathfully, on his return to camp. "I filed the papers at Dugout City, and the claim now stands in my name, though it belongs to the firm. And now, having attended to the firm's business, I'm going out to settle some of my own."