Mr. Dunlop assented, but his mind was plainly on his disappointment all through the meal.

Even when Harry Hazelton related how Dolph Gage and his crew had been served, the mine promoter displayed but little enthusiasm.

“By the way, sir,” suggested Tom, “you are not going to use all of your men today?”

“I cannot use any of them for a day or two.”

“Then you might do us a great favor by sending a few of your men over here.  I expect that Gage’s absent comrade will return at any time.  He will have his rifle, and one gun in the hands of a marksman, might be enough to make considerable trouble around here.”

“You ask me a favor, and yet you won’t work for me,” complained their guest.

“I think we did you a favor, once upon a time, by helping to chase off the Gage crowd at a critical time for you,” said Tom bluntly.  “However, if you don’t wish-----”

“I’ll send half a dozen men over here until Ferrers returns,” interjected Mr. Dunlop hastily.

The men reported to Tom and Harry within half an hour.  A few minutes after their arrival Harry espied Dolph Gage’s absent man galloping over to the Gage claim.

“There would have been trouble, if we hadn’t shown a few armed men here,” muttered Hazelton.

“There’s some excitement in that camp, as it is,” exclaimed Tom, who had a pair of binoculars at his eyes.  “Gage, Eb and Josh are crowding around the new arrival.  Take the glasses, Harry.  Note how excited they are about something.”

“Gage is stamping about and looking wild,” Harry reported.  “He looks as though, for two cents, he’d tear his hair out.  And Eb has thrown his hat on the ground and is stamping on it.  I wonder what the trouble can be?”

Two hours later Jim Ferrers rode into camp at the head of his new outfit.  He had the two-mule team and wagon, and seven men, all miners and armed.  Two of the men rode the ponies that Reade had instructed Jim to buy.

“Jim,” called Tom, as he ran toward their mining party, “have you any idea what’s wrong with the Gage crowd?”

“I’ve a small notion,” grinned the guide.  “The man who was sent over couldn’t file their claim to the ridge.”

“Couldn’t file it!  Why not?”

“Because every man in that crowd has exhausted his mineral land privileges taking up claims elsewhere.”

“Why, then, man alive!” gasped Tom, halting, a look of wonder on his face, and then a grin of realization, “if they can’t file the claim to that strip, why can’t we!”

“We can, if we’re quick enough,” Ferrers answered.  “I tried to file the claim while I was over in Dugout, but the clerk at the mining claim office said he ’lowed that we’d have to have our declaration tacked up on the ridge first of all.”

“That’ll take us a blessed short time,” muttered Reade.  “Harry and I have all the particulars we need for writing out the notice of claim.  Get some breakfast on the jump, Jim, and we’ll hustle over there.”