e used
for grazing purposes if it's more valuable for pasture than for crops,
and that actual grazing will be accepted instead of cultivation--if it
is grazing land. So--"

"I betche you can't prove that," Happy lack interrupted him. "I never
heard of that before--"

"The world's plumb full of things you never heard of, Happy," Andy told
him witheringly. "I gave Chip my copy of the homestead laws, and a plat
of the land up here; soon as he hands 'em back I can show you in cold
print where it says that very identical thing.

"That's what makes it look good to me, just on general principles," he
went on, his honest, gray eyes taking in the circle of attentive faces.
"If the bunch of us could pool our interests and use what rights we got,
we can corral about four thousand acres--and we can head off outsiders
from grazing in the Badlands, if we take our land right. We've been
overlooking a bet, and don't you forget it. We've been fooling around,
just putting in our time and drawing wages, when we could be owning our
own grazing land by now and shipping our own cattle, if we had enough
sense to last us overnight.

"A-course, I ain't crazy about turning nester, myself--but we've let
things slide till we've got to come through or get outa the game. It's
a fact, boys, about them dry-farmers coming in on us. That Minneapolis
bunch that the blonde lady works for is sending out a colony of farmers
to take up this land between here and the Bear Paws. The lady tipped her
hand, not knowing where I ranged and thinking I wouldn't be interested
in anything but her. She's a real nice lady, too, and goodlooking--but
a grafter to her last eye winker. And she hit too close home to suit me,
when she named the place where they're going to dump their colony."

"Where does the graft come in?" inquired Pink cautiously. "The farmers
get the land, don't they?"

"Sure, they get the land. And they pungle up a good-sized fee to
Florence Grace Hallman and her outfit, for locating 'em. Also there's
side money in it, near as I can find out. They skin the farmers somehow
on the fare out here. That's their business, according to the lady. They
prowl around through the government plats till they spot a few thousand
acres of land in a chunk; they take a look at it, maybe, and then they
boom it like hell, and get them eastern marks hooked--them with money,
the lady said. Then they ship a bunch out here, locate 'em on the land
and leave it up to THEM,