ither by fair means nor foul had he heretofore been
able to obtain possession of the property. But now he had been working
in secret for a long while, and he came prepared to make an announcement
that was designed to trouble the boys not a little.

"Hullo, there, young fellers," he called out roughly, as he dismounted.
"I reckon you didn't expect to see me quite so soon again, did you?"

"We did not," rejoined Paul, coldly.

"Well, I confess I fixed matters up quicker than I first calculated to
do," went on the captain. "I thought I was going to have a good bit more
trouble to establish my claim."

"As far as I know you have no claim here to establish," put in Chet,
sharply. "You may pretend----"

"See here, I ain't talking to you," retorted Captain Grady, cutting him
short. "Your big brother is the feller I want to see--him or Barnaby
Winthrop."

"Both of them are away," replied Paul, "and Chet and I are running the
ranch just now."

"And if you do not like my manner of speech you need not stay here,"
cried Chet, warmly, his temper rising at the newcomer's aggressive
manner.

"Ho! you young savage, don't you speak that way to me," roared Captain
Grady. "I didn't come here to deal with a kid."

"I may be young, but I have my rights here, just the same," retorted
Chet.

"My brother is right," added Paul. "If you wish to talk business you
must do so with both of us."

The captain growled out something under his breath. He was about to
speak when he caught sight of Noel Urner.

He started back as though a ghost had confronted him, and the words died
on his lips. The young man from New York saw the action, but could not
in the least account for it.

CHAPTER X.

The Captain's Setback

Captain Grady recovered in a few seconds. He glanced suspiciously about
to see if there were others with Noel. Seeing the young man was alone,
he plucked up fresh courage.

"All right, I'll talk business with both," he said. "Who is this?" and
he jerked his thumb toward Noel.

"A friend of ours from New York," replied Paul.

"Humph! Didn't know you had friends so far off."

"We don't know everything in this world," retorted Chet, pointedly.

"You're right, we don't," replied the captain with equal emphasis.

He tied his horse fast to the doorpost and strode into the house. Paul
motioned Chet to follow, and then buttonholed Noel Urner.

"This is Captain Grady," he whispered. "We have told you a little about