"I am instructed by Mr. Marcus Massie, the rightful owner of this place, to take possession of it at once, and to order you off the grounds as trespassers," said the lawyer. "Do you intend to prevent us from an exercise of our legal rights?"
"I intend to prevent you from coming in here," replied Bob, "and I warn you now that I will seriously injure the first one who attempts to come on to this land, which belongs to Mr. Simpson."
"I have made the demand upon you," continued the lawyer, in an unruffled tone, "and I tell you now that my client will proceed against you if you thus attempt by force to prevent him from the exercise of his just and lawful rights."
"Your client may proceed to do whatever he can, and just as soon as he can, and if my answer has not been sufficiently plain, I tell you again that none of you can come in here."
And Bob made a demonstration with his club which appeared to convince the lawyer that he would have no hesitation about using it on his precious body.
"I have warned you," said the legal gentleman, viciously, "and now you can take the consequences."
"And I have warned you!" cried Bob, "and I'm certain that you will take the consequences if you attempt to come here, where neither you nor your client have any rights."
With this pleasant conversation, the lawyer and his companions drove away, and once more was Bob master of the situation.
The next arrivals to the disputed property were Mr. Gurney, Mr. Hillman and Ralph. The former had started as soon as he had received his son's telegram, and from the look on Ralph's face, it was easy to see that the two lawyers, after a consultation together, did not consider the situation a desperate one.
"Father says that even if George doesn't succeed in finding Thompson, he believes it will be possible to show to the satisfaction of a jury that Mr. Simpson paid off the mortgage," said Ralph, as the two lawyers entered the house, leaving the boys alone in the stable-yard. "Of course if this witness could be found, everything could be settled at once."