“You don’t get the point,” Rawley protested. “I am not responsible because the undertaking is so stupendous that it is beyond any private enterprise. You _can’t_ shoot a lot of rock into the river and call that a dam. And if you could, you must not. Don’t you see? The welfare of too many thousands of people are involved. It’s a job for the government. You can’t take it for granted that, just because you have lived beside it all your lives, and because it doesn’t seem to belong to anybody, any more than the clouds belong, that you can claim it, or even claim the right to do as you please with it. There’s a right that goes away beyond the individual--” “The gold down there is ours,” Old Jess cried fiercely. “We own placer claims on both sides of the river, and the lines run across. We’ve got a right to placer the gold in the river bed. It’s _ours_. We got a right to git it any way we kin! The gov’ment can’t stop us, neither.” “Oh, yes, it can!” Rawley rashly contradicted. “When you come down to fine points, the government owns this river. It owns the river bed and whatever gold is there. By ‘right of eminent domain’, if you ever heard of that.” “Right of eminent hell!” Young Jess got up and stood over Rawley threateningly. “Tell _me_ a bunch uh swell-heads back in Wash’n’ton, that never _seen_ this river, can set and tell us what we can do an’ what we can’t do? We own claims both sides the river, and we got a right to what’s _in_ the river. You can’t come here and tell us, this late day, ’t we got to quit, and lose our time an’ money, because the gov’ment or somebody wants to build a dam. Hell, _we_ ain’t stoppin’ nobody! They better nobody try an’ stop us, neither!” CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX “TAKE THIS FIGHTING SQUAW AWAY!” Never before had Rawley seen Young Jess in a rage. A surly, ignorant fellow he knew him to be, and not too intelligent. A dangerous fellow, Rawley believed him; quite capable of killing any man who thwarted him or roused his fury. But Rawley did not move or attempt to placate him. He had learned that some natures must blow up a great storm before they can yield. He hoped that this was the case with Young Jess. The old vulture craned his neck forward, his eyes piercingly malevolent. “Think I’ve waited fifty year fer that gold, t’ be robbed of it now? They ain’t no gov’ment on earth can step in an’ take what’s mine! I’ll blow ’em to hell first! I’ll--” As once before, when he thought his gold was threatened, Old Jess ran the full gamut of anathema. Nevada fled from the sound of his cracked voice shrieking maniacal threats and maledictions. He shook his fist under Rawley’s nose and stamped his feet and raved. Young Jess was over-ridden, silenced by the old man’s insane outburst. As once before, Peter said absolutely nothing until Old Jess had reached the zenith of his rage. Then he rose deliberately and without excitement, took the old man by the collar and headed him toward the door.