trike fear to the heart of any
loyalist? And Jag Ear, you're getting fat!"

"I keep his hoofs hard. When he fat he eat less on trail!" explained
Firio, becoming almost voluble. "All ready for trail!" he hinted.

"Not now, Firio," said Jack. "And, Firio, there's a package at the
station, a big, flat case. It came by express on the same train with
me--the most precious package in the world. See that it is taken to
the house."

"Si! You ride?" asked Firio, offering P.D.'s reins.

"No, we'll all walk."

The procession had started toward the town when Jack felt something soft
poking him in the small of the back and looked around to find that the
cause was P.D.'s muzzle. Wrath of God and Jag Ear might go with Firio,
but P.D. proposed to follow Jack.

"And after I have ridden you thousands of miles and you've heard all my
songs over and over! Well, well, P.D., you are a subtle flatterer! Come
along!" Then he turned to Jim Galway: "Has John Prather arrived?"

"Yes, last night."

"He is here now?" Jack put in quickly.

"No; he pulled out at dawn on his way to Agua Fria."

"Oh!" Jack was plainly disappointed. "He has the grant for the
water rights?"

"Yes," said Jim, "though he hasn't made the fact public. He does
everything in his smooth, quiet fashion, with a long head, and I suppose
he hasn't things just right yet to spring his surprise. But there is no
disputing the fact--he has us!"

One man henceforth was in control of the water. His power over the
desert community would be equivalent to control of the rains in a
humid locality.

"You see," Jim continued, "old man Lefferts' partners had really never
sold out to him; so his transfer to the Doge wasn't legal. He turned his
papers over to Prather, giving Prather full power to act for him in
securing the partners' surrender of their claims and straighten out
everything with the Territory and get a bonafide concession. That is as I
understand it, for the whole business has been done in an underhand way.
Prather represented to the Doge that he was acting entirely in the
interests of the community and his only charge would be the costs. The
Doge quite believed in Prather's single-mindedness and public spirit.
Well, with the use of money and all the influences he could command,
including the kind that Pete Leddy exercises, he got the concession and
in his name. It was very smart work. I suppose it was due to the crafty
way he could direct the Doge to do his wishes