by tacit and mutual consent, when the young homesteaders arrived at their section, they made no mention of their terrible experience, and setting out some of joy’s food, ate ravenously.
“we ought to be able to clear and plow one field this afternoon,” said phil, when the last dish was wiped and put away.
readily the younger boy agreed, and hitching the blacks to the plow, they were soon at the clearing, which looked as though it were pockmarked, the surface was so pitted with holes where the brush had been blown out.
“we’ll save time by dragging with an iron rail, the way mr. jay told us, instead of trying to plow this scrub growth and grass under,” declared ted. accordingly they took the whiffle-trees and some chains from the plow, returned to camp, hitched on to the rail the aged settler had loaned them, drew it to the clearing, where they quickly made a horse fast to each end.
“ready?” called phil.
“ready,” answered his brother.
“then giddap.”
as the horses started, the edge of the rail bit into the ground, tearing up everything in its course, and by night the boys had cleared a couple of acres, for the growth was not heavy.
“which shall it be—clear some more land or plant what we have cleared?” inquired phil, when they were ready to work, the next morning. “or i say, better still, as there is no wind, let’s burn the brush we cleared yesterday. those piles don’t look very well, and if petersen—”
“oh, bother petersen! as joy said, he’s afraid of us. but we won’t burn any brush till andy or steve is here, it’s too dangerous.”
“guess you are right. which is it, clear or plant?”
“plant. if i don’t sow my ‘durum’ wheat right off, it won’t have any chance.”
“hoped you had forgotten durum for a while,” laughed his brother. “but as you haven’t, i suppose you must have your way. you can sow durum and i’ll sow alfalfa.”
laughing and chatting happily, the young homesteaders cut two bags in halves, tied short pieces of rope to the corners of the lower portions, filled them with their respective seeds, and, slinging the ropes over their shoulders, set forth for their clearing.
taking a handful of the seed, they scattered it broadcast, as they walked back and forth across the fields they had prepared.
“we must go back for more alfalfa,” called phil, before he had covered quite half of his clearing.
“more seed?” repeated his brother, in amazement. “why, you had enough for that whole field. what on earth have you done with it?”
“sowed it, of course.”
“dumped it, you mean,” grinned ted. “look! i’ve got half of mine left. there won’t be room for your alfalfa to grow, it will be so thick.”
“and your durum will be so thin you can drive a team between each stalk,” retorted phil.
“well, my seed will last to cover all the land i want, which is more than you can say for your alfalfa. if you keep on as you’ve started, you won’t have enough to plant one field, instead of four. and you know the storekeeper said we had a plenty for four.”
“perhaps you can make it last longer, i can’t. i don’t believe that man in bradley told the truth,” snapped the elder boy.
“now don’t get peevish. go back to camp, get some more seed, and when you return, i’ll show you how to sow it.”
in no pleasant mood phil started off, only to return at full speed, beckoning frantically to his brother.
surprised at such actions, and the more that phil uttered no word of explanation, ted ran to meet him.
“there are two men at the hut, and they are throwing our things out,” gasped the elder boy, in a hoarse whisper, as they came within easy hailing distance.
“and our guns are inside,” bemoaned ted. “what did they say?”
“they didn’t see me. i didn’t give them the chance.”
“well, we have our rakes. we ought to be able to put up some fight with them. come on.”
but when the young homesteaders, after approaching the camp with all the stealth they knew, arrived at their hut, no sound came from within.
“probably they have seen us,” whispered ted, in his brother’s ear.
“then we’ll fool them,” returned phil. and taking off his cap, he placed it on the end of the rake, then pushed it forward until it was at the edge of the door where it would be plainly visible to any one inside.
hearts seemingly in their mouths, the boys waited. but still there was no sign of the men phil had seen.
at the end of several minutes ted moved close to the hut, and carefully made an opening through which he could look.
“not a soul in there,” he exclaimed. “you must have been dreaming, phil.”
“guess i know two men when i see them,” he retorted. “let’s act as though we didn’t know they were here. we’ll talk out loud and pretend to be returning from the clearing. that ought to fetch them. be ready, though.”
this ruse also failed in its purpose, and, throwing discretion to the winds, ted rushed boldly round the corner, then paused abruptly.
hung beside the door was a sheet of paper on which was written in crude spelling:
you claim jumpers must go! take your things and get! e 1 belongs to us. we filed on it 3 munths ago. we’ve put your things outside, as the law directs. if we find you or them here when we return, there’ll be more to it. claim jumping ain’t healthy in these regions!
the rightful owners of e 1.
too astonished to speak for the moment, the boys stared at the warning.
“that’s some trick!” ted exclaimed at last.
“bet it’s petersen’s work,” added his brother. “it’s somebody’s, that’s certain,” agreed ted. “the thing for us to do is to go to waterville and file our claim as fast as we can.”
“suppose these men have been there first,” suggested the elder boy.
“andy would have told us. come on, we haven’t any time to lose. you get the money while i saddle.”
ere ted had finished, however, phil joined him, his face white.
“the money’s gone!” he shouted.
dropping the cinch he was buckling, his brother dashed into the hut where the displaced boughs, the uncovered hole, and empty can proved the truth of the announcement.
“every cent we had in the world,” he sobbed.
“not quite. we kept out some, you know. twenty dollars, to be exact. that’s enough to pay the cost of filing. let’s show these robbers we can do a thing or two. good! they must have overlooked our pistols, though they’ve helped themselves to our rifles.”
angered at the robbery and warning, the young homesteaders hurriedly buckled on their holsters, put some cartridges in their pockets, selected some food from the pile of their belongings in front of their door, and, finishing the saddling of their ponies, galloped away.
having learned from andy that the way to waterville was the road leading past petersen’s section, they lost no time in going down the brook and were soon racing along the highway.
with their mounts dripping lather, the young homesteaders finally drew rein in front of a building bearing a sign “land office.”
“we want to file on a claim,” said phil, when they had entered.
“got the money?” demanded a man on the front of whose desk was the word “registrar.”
“yes—that is, how much is it?” stammered the boy, amazed at such a question.
“nineteen dollars.”
“we have it,” announced ted, wondering if the relief he felt as he heard the amount was evident in his voice.
with a grunt the registrar took a form from his desk, got up, and advanced to the counter.
“answer these questions,” he snapped. “names.”
“phil and ted porter,” replied the elder boy.
“where do you want to file?”
“on quarter section, e 1, chikau township.”
mindful of andy’s statement that the registrar had long coveted the section upon which they had settled, the boys watched him closely as this answer was given. no outward sign of emotion did he evince. his head, however, was bent over the paper on which he was writing, and could the young homesteaders have seen the light that appeared in his eyes, they would have become even more upset than they were at the warning they had received.
“raise your right hands and be sworn,” droned the agent, and when the oath had been administered, he continued his interrogations, having put down their general description, leaving the particulars of their parentage and family.
“you have examined the land you desire for a homestead?”
“yes, sir,” replied phil, who was acting as spokesman.
“any coal or minerals?”
“no, sir.”
“you are not filing this entry for the purpose of selling out to any person, persons, or corporations, or with their connivance?”
“no, sir.”
“you will live on and cultivate the land to the best of your ability?”
“yes, sir.”
“by the way, you will enjoy the benefit of the law just signed by the president reducing the period of residence from five to three years and requiring a sojourn on the land of only five months in each year. you are not taking up this land as a speculation?”
“no, sir.”
several more minor questions the registrar asked, then said:
“now just sign your names, there. good! that completes the filing of your entry, except the payment of the fees. as you are taking up one hundred and sixty acres, you must pay the government ten dollars; if you had taken only eighty, or less, it would only have been five: i am entitled to a commission of a dollar and a half for each forty acres and a fee of a dollar and a half for administering the oath and taking your affidavit, nineteen dollars in all.
“ah, thank you,” as ted handed him the money. “now, if you wish, at the end of fourteen months, you can commute your entry. that is, by paying a dollar and a quarter an acre and the necessary fees for being sworn, having four witnesses testify that you have lived on and cultivated the land for fourteen consecutive months, and the cost of notice by publication in a newspaper of your intended commutation, you can obtain your title to the land, which is called the patent. of course, at the end of three years, without any charge per acre but with the fees for witnesses and the rest, you can obtain your patent just the same. the rest of the details you can learn from this pamphlet.”
“then you have accepted our entry?” asked ted, after a silence of several seconds had brought no more questions.
“not by any means.” and there was a sinister smile about the registrar’s mouth. “i have merely entered your claim.”
as they heard the words, so evidently portent with meaning, the boys’ hearts sank, for they had taken hope as the interrogation had proceeded so smoothly.
“doesn’t this constitute the filing of our entry?” hazarded phil, timidly.
“no, i told you.”
“why not? has—has any one filed before us?” stammered ted.
“what makes you ask that?”
“why—” began the boy, when phil broke in: “we were told this would be the regular form.”
“so it is. i wanted to get your answers under oath. the government is keen for punishing land frauds.”
“land frauds?” exclaimed both boys together.
“exactly. you boys are neither of you of age. you have offered no paper from your parent approving your act, you have not received a special permit from the secretary of the interior, you have not offered evidence of having served in the army or navy, which would allow you to become homesteaders even if not of age. it is evident, therefore, that you are making a fraudulent entry. it will be my duty to have you arrested.”
“take back your money, ted,” commanded his brother, boldly, though inwardly quaking at the threat of arrest.
“don’t touch it!” snapped the registrar.
“why not? the money is ours. you have refused our entry, so you have no right to it.”
“isn’t my time worth anything?”
“not out of our money. put it in your pocket, ted.”
“leave it there. it is necessary as evidence of your filing.”
“then give us a receipt,” retorted the elder boy.
realizing that he could not bluff the young homesteaders, simmons made out a receipt, whereupon ted pushed the money toward him.
“i warn you not to leave this region until i have instructions from washington about dealing with you,” admonished the registrar.
“you will find us on our homestead, if you want us,” returned phil.
“if you go there, you do so at your own risk.”
“but our claim holds, pending your instructions from washington?” demanded phil.
“yes.”
“then come on, ted. oh, how soon may we expect to hear about it?”
“in two weeks, more or less.”
“which will give us time to consult mr. hopkins,” commented the elder boy, and summoning all his dignity, he led the way from the office, his brother at his heels, while the registrar laughed unpleasantly.
