ig men would pool their resources to freeze us off,
but I know something about Martin and doubt if he would play a low-down
game."

"Davies might," said Jake.

"I think he did," Carrie interposed, and her voice was sharp. "In
fact, it's obvious. He's poison mean; I knew this at the store."

"I didn't like him," Jim replied and added thoughtfully: "After all,
the contract's not important, from the big men's point of view. No
doubt, they'd sooner we let up, but somehow I can't see their finding
it worth while to get after us."

"It is puzzling," Jake admitted; "I think we'll let it go. If we have
any fresh bad luck, our money will run out long before we can make
good. This would leave us without resources except for the Bluebird
claim."

Jim frowned. "I'll hold on while I have a dollar, but I don't want to
sell the mine. For one thing, we couldn't get a price that would help
us much, although I expect northern copper claims will soon be
valuable. The country's fast being opened up and some day there'll be
a railroad built."

"Perhaps it's significant that Baumstein made us another offer for the
Bluebird."

"When did he make the offer?" Jim asked sharply.

"When you were ill; I refused. Thought I'd told you. He raised his
limit a thousand dollars."

"Shucks!" said Jim. "Does the fellow think we'll give him the mine?
Anyhow, I'd sooner not sell to Baumstein at all. He's a crook and has
made his pile by freezing poor men off their claims."

Jake smiled. "Poor men with mines to sell get used to freezing, and if
we refuse to deal with anybody whose character isn't first grade, we're
not going to progress much. I doubt if rich folks who like a square
deal are numerous."

"There are some," said Jim. "For all that, the unscrupulous, grab-all
financier is a blight on the country. The prospector risks his life in
the struggle with half-frozen tundra bog, rotten rock, and snow, and
the other fellow, with his net of bribes and graft, gets the reward.
But, we won't stand for that kind of thing."

"Let's be practical. We're not running a purity campaign, and it looks
as if nobody but Baumstein is willing to buy the mine."

"Then my proposition is, we hold tight until the Combine come into the
field. They'll be forced to get busy before long, and while I don't
know if all their deals are straight, they're better than Baumstein's.
In the meantime, we have got to stay with this telegraph contract while