The Happy Family spoke very nicely to Florence Grace, and when she spoke very sharply to them they were discreetly hard of hearing and became absorbed in their work.
Several settlers came before that shack was moved, but they only stood around and talked among themselves, and were careful not to get in the way or to hinder, and to lower their voices so that the Happy Family need not hear unless they chose to listen.
So they slid that shack into the coulee, righted it carefully and left it there--where it would be exceedingly difficult to get it out, by the way; since it is much easier to drag a building down hill than up, and the steeper the hill and the higher, the greater the difference.
They loaded the timbers into the wagon and methodically on to the next shack, their audience increased to a couple of dozen perturbed settlers.
The owner of this particular shack, feeling the strength of numbers behind him, was disposed to argue the point.
"Oh, you'll sweat for this!" he shouted impotently when the Happy Family was placing the timbers.
"Ah, git outa the way!" said Andy, coming toward him with a crowbar.
"We're sweating now, if that makes yuh feel any better." The man got out of the way, and went and stood with the group of onlookers, and talked vaguely of having the law on them--whatever he meant by that.
By the time they had placed the third shack in the bottom of the coulee, the sun was setting.

They dragged the timbers up the steep bluff with their ropes and their saddle-horses, loaded them on to the wagon and threw the crowbars and rolling timbers in, and turned to look curiously and unashamed at their audience.

Andy, still tacitly their leader, rode a few steps forward.
"That'll be all today," he announced politely.

"Except that load of lumber back here on the bench where it don't belong--we aim to haul that over the line.

Seeing your considerable interest in our affairs, I'll just say that we filed on our claims according to law, and we're living on 'em according to law.