as Belding was, and absorbed in his own feelings, he yet
saw plainly that his advent was disturbing to these men. They looked
alarmed, exchanged glances, and then quickly turned to him. One of
them, a tall, rugged man with sharp face and shrewd eyes and white
hair, got up and offered his hand.

"I'm Chase, senior," he said. "My son Radford Chase is here somewhere.
You're Belding, the line inspector, I take it? I meant to call on you."

He seemed a rough-and-ready, loud-spoken man, withal cordial enough.

"Yes, I'm the inspector," replied Belding, ignoring the proffered hand,
"and I'd like to know what in the hell you mean by taking up land
claims--staked ground that belongs to my rangers?"

"Land claims?" slowly echoed Chase, studying his man. "We're taking up
only unclaimed land."

"That's a lie. You couldn't miss the stakes."

"Well, Mr. Belding, as to that, I think my men did run across some
staked ground. But we recognize only squatters. If your rangers think
they've got property just because they drove a few stakes in the ground
they're much mistaken. A squatter has to build a house and live on his
land so long, according to law, before he owns it."

This argument was unanswerable, and Belding knew it.

"According to law!" exclaimed Belding. "Then you own up; you've jumped
our claims."

"Mr. Belding, I'm a plain business man. I come along. I see a good
opening. Nobody seems to have tenable grants. I stake out claims,
locate squatters, start to build. It seems to me your rangers have
overlooked certain precautions. That's unfortunate for them. I'm
prepared to hold my claim and to back all the squatters who work for
me. If you don't like it you can carry the matter to Tucson. The law
will uphold me."

"The law? Say, on this southwest border we haven't any law except a
man's word and a gun."

"Then you'll find United States law has come along with Ben Chase,"
replied the other, snapping his fingers. He was still smooth,
outspoken, but his mask had fallen.

"You're not a Westerner?" queried Belding.

"No, I'm from Illinois."

"I thought the West hadn't bred you. I know your kind. You'd last a
long time on the Texas border; now, wouldn't you? You're one of the
land and water hogs that has come to root in the West. You're like the
timber sharks--take it all and leave none for those who follow. Mr.
Chase, the West would fare better and last longer if men like you were
driven out."