h simpler and easier to do their moving in daylight. There they
had an audience, for Florence Grace rode furiously up just as they were
getting under way. The Happy Family spoke very nicely to Florence Grace,
and when she spoke very sharply to them they were discreetly hard of
hearing and became absorbed in their work.

Several settlers came before that shack was moved, but they only stood
around and talked among themselves, and were careful not to get in the
way or to hinder, and to lower their voices so that the Happy Family
need not hear unless they chose to listen.

So they slid that shack into the coulee, righted it carefully and left
it there--where it would be exceedingly difficult to get it out, by the
way; since it is much easier to drag a building down hill than up, and
the steeper the hill and the higher, the greater the difference.

They loaded the timbers into the wagon and methodically on to the next
shack, their audience increased to a couple of dozen perturbed settlers.
The owner of this particular shack, feeling the strength of numbers
behind him, was disposed to argue the point.

"Oh, you'll sweat for this!" he shouted impotently when the Happy Family
was placing the timbers.

"Ah, git outa the way!" said Andy, coming toward him with a crowbar.
"We're sweating now, if that makes yuh feel any better."

The man got out of the way, and went and stood with the group of
onlookers, and talked vaguely of having the law on them--whatever he
meant by that.

By the time they had placed the third shack in the bottom of the coulee,
the sun was setting. They dragged the timbers up the steep bluff with
their ropes and their saddle-horses, loaded them on to the wagon and
threw the crowbars and rolling timbers in, and turned to look curiously
and unashamed at their audience. Andy, still tacitly their leader, rode
a few steps forward.

"That'll be all today," he announced politely. "Except that load of
lumber back here on the bench where it don't belong--we aim to haul that
over the line. Seeing your considerable interest in our affairs, I'll
just say that we filed on our claims according to law, and we're living
on 'em according to law. Till somebody proves in court that we're not,
there don't any shack, or any stock, stay on our side the line any
longer than it takes to get them off. There's the signs, folks--read 'em
and take 'em to heart. You can go home now. The show's over."

He lifted his hat to the wo