“Who’s goin’ ter say no?”

“I am.”

“You!”

“Yes.”

“Who is you?”

“I am named William Frederick Cody.”

“You has handle enough.”

“I have more than that.”

“Waal.”

“I’m called Buffalo Billy.”

“We has heer’d o’ you as a chap as has too much cheek fer one so young.”

“Then if you know me you will understand that though I am but a boy I won’t let you walk away with my claim.”

“Get out, boy.”

Billy obeyed; that is he went down to the camps and consulted his friends about what was best for him to do.

“We’ll go up and call in their chips, Billy,” was the universal decision.

“No, let us find out if the claim is theirs,” said Billy.

“Find out nothin’; they has no right to it and ’tain’t justice.”

So up to the mine they went, and Billy’s friends recognized the two claimants of the mine as two worthless fellows who had been in the valley months before, but who had no claim upon the boy’s property.

“You must git!”

That was the decision; but just then others came up who sided with the desperadoes and things looked very scary for awhile, for half the crowd swore that the mine had belonged to the two claimants to it and that Billy ought to give it up.

But these were the men who disliked Billy and his party, as they were the honest miners, and who were willing to side with his foes.

“Ef ther boy wants ther mine he will hev to fight fer it,” said one.

“He will fight for it and so will we!” cried one of Billy’s friends.

All this time Billy had remained silent; but now he saw that his friends were in deadly earnest, and to prevent a general fight and much loss of life he said: 

“The mine I own legally and I’ll fight for it if that will settle it, but I don’t want to have to fight both of you.”

“Oh, but you must though,” said one.

“If I must, I’ll do it.”

“But you shall not, Billy.  These two devils only want to murder you so they can get the mine, and they sha’n’t do it.”

This was said by Billy’s best pard and the others who liked the boy backed him up in his words, and pistols were drawn on both sides and the slightest act now all knew would cause trouble.

“If they’ll fight me with revolvers and separately I’ll be willing,” said Billy, hastily, anxious to avert the trouble.

“Waal, we’ll do that, so sail in,” said one.

“No, not this way, you accursed coward, but go off there, stand with your back to the boy, as he will to you, and twenty paces apart, and at a word wheel and fire,” cried Billy’s friend.

This seemed fair and all agreed to it, and the man and the boy were placed in position, Billy pale but calm.

The other side won the word to wheel and fire, and though the man tried to aid his friend in giving it, Buffalo Billy was too quick for him and fired a second in advance of his adversary.