human
You see those papers, Bab? They're plans and Crown patents for the mine. I'm going away to-morrow, and can't take them along, so I'll put them under that pile of old books yonder. Now, if I was to tell Katty to make sure the doors were fast she'd get worrying, but you have better nerves, and I'll ask you to see that nobody gets in here until I come back again. Nobody's likely to want to, but I'll put a screw in the window, and give you the key.
gpt
I shall not be afraid. Are the papers valuable?
human
No, said Devine, with a trace of dryness.
gpt
Not exactly! In fact, I'm not quite sure they would be worth anything to anybody in a month or two. Still, the man who got hold of them in the meanwhile might fancy he could make trouble for me.
human
How? said Barbara.
gpt
You said they mightn't be much use to anybody.
human
I can't explain part of it, he said.
gpt
When I took hold of the Canopus, it didn't seem likely to pay me for my trouble, and I didn't worry about the patents or how far they covered what I was doing. Now, if you drive beyond the frontage you've made your claim on, it constitutes another mine, which isn't covered by your record and belongs to the Crown. It's open to any jumper who comes along. Besides, unless you do a good many things exactly as the law lays down, your patent mayn't hold good, and any one who knows the regulations can re-record the claim.
human
That means you or the previous owner neglected one or two formalities, and an unscrupulous person who found it out from those papers could take the Canopus, or part of it, away from you?
gpt
Yes, he said.
human
That is, he might try.
gpt
I understand, said Barbara.
human
Still, there are no strangers here, and I don't think you have a man who would attempt anything of that kind about the mine.
gpt
Or at the cañon?
human
No, she said.
gpt
I am quite sure that is the last thing one would expect from anybody at the cañon, but if we stay here Katty will be wondering what has become of me.