Now, gentlemen, when the bank sends down that expert to-morrow I expect that he will find YOU IN POSSESSION of every part of the deserted claim except the spot where Tom is still working." "And what good is that to us ?" asked one of the men contemptuously.
"Good ?" repeated Steptoe harshly.

"Well, if you're not as d----d a fool as Marshall, you'll see that if he has struck a lead or vein it's bound to run across OUR CLAIMS, and what's to keep us from sinking for it as long as Marshall hasn't worked the other claims for years nor pre-empted them for this lead ?" "What'll keep him from preempting now ?" "Our possession." "But if he can prove that the brothers left their claims to him to keep, he'll just send the sheriff and his posse down upon us," persisted the first speaker.
"It will take him three months to do that by law, and the sheriff and his posse can't do it before as long as we're in peaceable possession of it.

And by the time that expert and Marshall return they'll find us in peaceful possession, unless we're such blasted fools as to stay talking about it here!" "But what's to prevent Marshall from getting a gang of his own to drive us off ?" "Now your talkin' and not yelpin'," said Steptoe, with slow insolence.
"D----d if I didn't begin to think you kalkilated I was goin' to employ you as lawyers! Nothing is to prevent him from gettin' up HIS gang, and we hope he'll do it, for you see it puts us both on the same level before the law, for we're both BREAKIN' IT.

And we kalkilate that we're as good as any roughs they can pick up at Heavy Tree." "I reckon!" "Ye can count us in!" said half a dozen voices eagerly.
"But what's the job goin' to pay us ?" persisted a Sydney man.

"An' arter we've beat off this other gang, are we going to scrub along on grub wages until we're yanked out by process-sarvers three months later?
If that's the ticket I'm not in it.