f the mountain. The girl
wondered at this visit as she heard Lafe Brandon, the father and head
of the tribe, ask Harris to put them up for the night.

An hour later Harris and Lafe came to her door and she let them in.

"The Brandons are riding down to file on a quarter apiece," Harris
said. "Art quit the wagon below their place as we came in and told the
rest that we're going to farm the Three Bar."

"Then you're doing the same?" she asked Lafe with sudden hope that her
brand would have company in the move.

Old man Brandon shook his head.

"Not right off," he said. "Until we see how you folks pan out. We
can't fix to handle it the way you do. We're filing to protect
ourselves before some nester outfit turns up at our front door."

The old man explained his views. There was enough flow in the stream
that cut their home valley to water something over a section of land.
With that filed on they would control their home range. They could
grade up their cows and increase a hundred per cent. with a section
under hay. He hoped the Three Bar would win, but he feared to start in
the face of the wave of opposition he was sure would rise against the
move.

"We're not fixed for it," he explained again.

"But the other small outfits feel the same way," Harris said. "If two
of us start the rest will join in."

"Maybe so," the old man said doubtfully. "But noways likely. They're
too set on the other side." The thought was deep-rooted and he could
not be moved.

"We'll let it out it's only for protection that we all are filing," he
said. "And that we don't aim to prove up. The outfits that don't file
now will lose out. This will always be open range, more than ninety
per cent. of it, and those who file on their water will control the
grass. As soon as the squatters see one outfit starting, they'll take
out papers on every piece of dirt they can get water to. They'll have
six months to move on, then a six months' stay. They'll hang round
waiting for things to open up so they can rush in here. The brand
owners who haven't hedged theirselves beforehand will run down to file
and find that nesters have had papers on all the good pieces right in
their dooryard for months. They'll have only the plots left that their
home ranch sets on, and likely no water even for that."

The Brandons stayed for the night and rode off at daylight the next
morning, while the Three Bar men prepared for a trip to Brill's. As
t