', and so it's
done. He was something of a prophet." The old fellow chuckled softly and
lit his pipe. "That there friend of yours, Mr. Wickersham, is been down
here ag'in. Kind o' hangs around. What's he up to?"

Keith laughed.

"Well, it's pretty hard to tell what Wickersham is up to,--at least, by
what he says,--especially when you don't tell me what he is doing."

The old man looked pleased. Keith had let him believe that he did not
know what he was talking of, and had expressed an opinion in which
he agreed.

"That's what I think. Well, it's about my land up here."

Keith looked relived.

"Has he made you another offer for it?"

"No; he ain't done that, and he won't do it. That's what I tells him. If
he wants it, let him make me a good offer; but he won't do that. He kind
o' circles around like a pigeon before he lights, and talks about what I
paid for it, and a hundred per cent. advance, and all that. I give a
sight for that land he don't know nothin' about--years of hard work on
the mountain-side, sweatin' o' days, and layin' out in the cold at
nights, lookin' up at the stars and wonderin' how I was to git
along--studin' of folks jest as I studied cattle. That's what I paid for
that land. He wants me to set him a price, and I won't do that--he might
give it." He looked shrewdly at Keith. "Ain't I right?"

"I think so."

"He wants me to let him have control of it; but I ain't a-goin' to do
that neither."

"That's certainly right," said Keith, heartily.

"I tell him I'm a-goin' to hold to that for Phrony. Phrony says she
wants me to sell it to him, too. But women-folks don't know about
business."

Keith wondered what effect this piece of information had on Wickersham,
and also what further design the old squire had in mind.

"I think it's about time to do something with that land. If all he says
is true,--not about _my_ land (he makes out as _my_ land is situate too
far away ever to be much account--fact is, he don't allow I've got any
land; he says it's all his anyway), but about other lands--everybody
else's land but mine,--it might be a good time to look around. I know as
my land is the best land up here. I holds the key to the situation.
That's what we used to call it durin' the war.

"Well, there ain't but three ways to git to them coal-lands back up
yonder in the Gap: one's by way of heaven, and I 'lows there ain't many
land-speculators goin' by that way; the other is through hell, a way
the