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 watchin' and hopin' for a chance to go in there and hog the water."

"When it's open to one it's open to all," Rawlins said, putting a cold hand on her greedy plans.

"That'd be foolish," Mrs. Peck chided him severely. "What a man fights for and wins is hisn."

"According to Galloway's argument it is," Rawlins agreed, "If I take sheep limit off for myself, I take it off for everybody."

"Well, I wasn't figgerin' that way when I said you could have a band of mine to run on shares," Mrs. Peck said. "If we couldn't git the good out of it I might as well keep my sheep at home. I thought you was aimin' to go in there and have it all to yourself for a year or two, anyhow."

"You misunderstood me then," Rawlins corrected her, more disappointed than surprised to see this narrow greediness.

"If it's goin' to be throwed open to all corners I might as well put my herders in there as to put in a band on shares with you. I never did go shares with anybody, although Duke started up two or three of these sheepmen around here that way. I only made the offer to you, Ned, because I thought we'd have that land to ourselves. You can see how it'll be if it's open to everybody that comes along. Homesteadin' farmers'll grab the land, us sheepmen won't have any place to go inside of a year."

"I wouldn't think you'd go back on your word, Aunt Lila," Edith declared, flushing with shame for the family honor.

Rawlins had a sort of gone feeling as he listened to