delivered before he arrived it might cause a lot of trouble--
litigation, riots, bloodshed, and all that. He filled her up on
generalities till the girl was frightened to death and thought the
safety of her uncle and the whole country depended on her."

"Well," continued Struve, "it's dead easy to hire men to jump
claims and it's dead easy to buy their rights afterwards,
particularly when they know they haven't got any--but what course
do you follow when owners go gunning for you?"

McNamara laughed.

"Who did that?"

"A benevolent, silver-haired old Texan pirate by the name of
Dextry. He's one half owner in the Midas and the other half
mountain-lion; as peaceable, you'd imagine, as a benediction, but
with the temperament of a Geronimo. I sent Galloway out to
relocate the claim, and he got his notices up in the night when
they were asleep, but at 6 A.M. he came flying back to my room and
nearly hammered the door down. I've seen fright in varied forms
and phases, but he had them all, with some added starters.

"'Hide me out, quick!' he panted.

"'What's up?' I asked.

"'I've stirred up a breakfast of grizzly bear, smallpox, and
sudden death and it don't set well on my stummick. Let me in.'