; "one the freighters use
that runs over the hills and's solid in most all kinds of weather, and
the stage-road, that follows the river purty much. It's shorter by a few
miles and easier to foller; but it's got some purty loose ground here
and there."

"Much obliged," said the doctor, striking his heels to his horse's sides
and galloping off, following the road which he had seen the stages take
to Meander, in the days when Claim Number One was farther off even than
eight hours and sixty miles.

CHAPTER XI

NUMBER ONE

In Meander that morning people began to gather early at the land-office,
for it was the first day for filing, and a certain designated number,
according to the rules laid down and understood before the drawing, must
appear and make entry on their chosen tracts.

There had been a good deal of talk and excitement over the nonappearance
in Meander of the man who drew the first chance. The story had gone
around, from what source nobody knew, that he would lapse, in which case
Number Two would become Number One, and all along the line would
advance. Number One would have to be there to file first, as Number Two
could not be entered ahead of him, and if he did not step up to the
window when it opened, his chance was gone forever.

The United States Government would accept no excuses; the machinery of
its vast, admirable business could not be thrown out of gear for an hour
or a day, and stand idle while the clerks waited for the holder of Claim
Number One to come from some distant part and step into his own. So
there was a good deal of nervousness and talking, and speculating and
crowding forward in the waiting line, as the hour for opening the office
drew near.

At the head of the line, holding a card with certain figures on it,
stood Axel Peterson, a bony-faced man with lean, high shoulders,
engineer in the flour-mill at Meander. Peterson strained his long neck
and lifted his chin as if his loose collar bound him and choked his
aspirations.

It was a racking hour for Axel Peterson, who had been offered a sum
which was riches to him if he would file on the land described by the
figures on the card, pay its purchase price to the government on the
spot with the money provided him for that purpose, and then step out.
Already he had signed an agreement to make a deed to it. However, the
land was yet in the mists of uncertainty just ahead, beyond his grasp.

For it was stipulated in his agreement