Duncan made a gesture of disgust. "The law!" he said. "What for? I haven't been such a fool. He's got as much right to the open range as I have--as you will have. I bought a section, and he took up a quarter section. The only difference between us is that I own mine--or did own it until you bought it--and he ain't proved on his. He is on the other side of the river and I'm on this. Or rather," he added with a grin, "he's on the other side and you are on this. He's got the best grass land in the country--and plenty of water." "His rights, then," remarked Langford slowly, "equal yours--or mine. That is," he added, "he makes free use of the grass and water." "That's so," agreed Duncan. "Which reduces the profits of the Double R," pursued Langford. "I reckon that's right." "And you knew that when you sold me the Double R," continued Langford, his voice smooth and silky. Duncan flashed a grin at the imperturbable face of the new owner. "I reckon I wasn't entirely ignorant of it," he said. "That's bad business," remarked Langford in a detached manner. "What is?" Duncan's face reddened slightly. "You mean that it was bad business for me to sell when I knowed Doubler owned land near the Double R?" There was a slight sneer in his voice as he looked at Langford. "You've never been stung before, eh? Well, there's always a first time for everything, and I reckon--according to what I've heard--that you ain't been exactly no Sunday school scholar yourself." Langford's eyes were narrowed to slits. "I meant that it was bad business to allow Doubler's presence on the Two Forks to affect the profits of the Double R. Perhaps I have been stung--as you call it--but if I have been I am not complaining." Duncan's eyes glinted with satisfaction. He had expected a burst of anger from the new owner when he should discover that the value of his property was impaired by the presence of a nester near it, but the new owner apparently harbored no resentment over this unforeseen obstacle. "I'm admitting," said Duncan, "that Doubler being there is bad business. But how are you going to prevent him staying there?" "Have you tried"--Langford looked obliquely at Duncan, drawling significantly--"force?" "I have tried everything, I told you." Duncan gazed at Langford with a new interest. It was the first time since the new owner had come to the Double R that he had dropped the mask of sleek smoothness behind which he concealed his passions. Even now the significance was more in his voice than in his words, and Duncan began to comprehend that Langford was deeper than he had thought. "I'm glad to see that you appreciate the situation," he said, smiling craftily. "Some men are mighty careful not to do anything to hurt anybody else." Langford favored Duncan with a steady gaze, which the latter returned, and both smiled.