"Came on the train." "Humph! Needn't be so pert! Maybe you had an offer o' work here?" "No." "We haven't got to look for a job," said Chet. "We've got something better to look forward to." "Better, eh? Wot is it?" And Josiah Graham's small eyes gazed shrewdly at the youths. "Never mind what it is," broke in Andy, hastily, with a warning look at his chum. "Ah, I know!" cried the man, with a leer. "You came down to sell thet land claim! Goin' to do it without my knowledge an' consent!" "No, I didn't come for that." "You can't tell me, Andy Graham! I know better, I do!" the old man shrilled. "But you remember I'm your guardeen, an' you can't sell nuthin' without me!" "You are not my guardian, Uncle Si. You went away of your own free will, and now I want you to let me alone." "Did you sell them papers yet?" "No." "Then you better give 'em to me. You was a big fool to run away as you did. I was a-goin' to make a good bargain fer yer." "Uncle Si, if you had sold those papers to that Mr. A. Q. Hopton, I could have had you arrested," said Andy, quietly but firmly. At these words the face of the shiftless man changed color, and his jaw dropped. "Me? Arrested?" he stammered. "Yes, arrested. I have had advice on the subject. You had no right to do a thing without the consent of the court." "Humph! so you have been to a lawyer, eh? Pretty way to do--not to trust your uncle, who allers did so well by yer. Has thet lawyer got them papers now?" "I won't tell you a word about the papers." "Humph! You ain't got no right to run away like this." "I am not running away. I have a right to go where I please--and do as I please." "Who told you thet?" "Never mind who told me." "You're a-gettin' too high-toned fer your boots, Andy Graham! How much money have you got?" "That is my business." "Ain't you a-goin' to tell me?" "No." "Where be you a-stopping?" "That is my business, too." "Don't git sassy." "I am not 'sassy,' as you call it. I intend, in the future, to mind my own business, and I want you to mind yours." "You had better leave Andy alone," put in Chet, who saw that the shiftless man was working himself up into the worst possible humor. "You never helped him, and he doesn't want anything to do with you." "Say, this ain't none o' your business, Chet Greene." "Andy is my friend." "Humph! he better not be!" snarled Josiah Graham. "You ain't no fit boy fer nobuddy to go with--you the son o' a thief, an' mebbe wuss. I want you----Oh!" What Josiah Graham wanted next was never made known, for just then he landed flat on his back in the gutter, where a well-directed blow from Chet's fist had sent him. CHAPTER XV THE START OF THE COOK EXPEDITION If ever a man was surprised, that man was Josiah Graham. Even Andy was astonished, for he had not dreamed that Chet could be so quick-tempered. "Oh, Chet, that was a hard blow!"