The firing had ceased, and a voice—that of Dooley—came up in reply:
“Well, what do you want?”
“What do you mean by this unprovoked attack upon us?”
“You are our enemies!”
“How do you prove that?”
“Have you not come here to cheat us out of the gold buried under the lake, and which justly belongs to us?”
“Neither of us are able to secure it just now.”
“Well, but we shall be when the lake recedes.”
“In that event, why have we not as much right to a share of it as you?”
“That is neither here nor there. We lay claim to the gold, and don’t propose to divide with anybody.”