Kitabı oku: «Ralph Gurney's Oil Speculation», sayfa 14
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE SHOT
It is barely possible that when Bob stood over the aperture with the iron poised in his hands which was to be the means of opening to them the mystery of the well, there was just a shade of fear at his heart that he had been mistaken in the signs, and that an upward rush of water, would be all that would follow the explosion.
His partners noted a look of almost painful hesitation on his face for an instant, and, then, as it vanished, he dropped the go-devil, retreating to where the group of anxious watchers were gathered around George's chair.
The seconds that followed the dropping of the iron were wonderfully long ones, and it seemed as if each one present ceased to breathe, as the time had come when the value or worthlessness of the well was to be decided.
Then was heard three distinct reports, somewhat louder than had been heard at the Hoxie well, because of the charge being nearer the surface of the earth, and this was followed by the black, noisome vapor that wreathed slowly around the aperture as if sent by the demons of the earth to keep back those venturesome mortals who would seek to penetrate their secrets.
No one spoke, and each eye was riveted upon the mouth of the well, to read there the story which was soon told. First came a shower of water, breaking into drops as it reached the surface, sparkling in the sun like diamonds, and then uprose, not slowly and waveringly as Ralph had seen it once before, but shooting quickly in the air, a transparent, greenish column of oil, that broke amid the timbers of the derrick, shattering into splinters the smaller joists and scattering them in every direction.
It was clearly and unmistakably oil, not in any small quantity, or sent with any slight force; but a discharge which, from its volume and intensity, showed how vast was the reservoir from which it had come, how great the strength of confined gas that sent it heavenward.
For nearly five minutes the spectators sat watching the flow of oil which told of the value of "The Harnett," until Bob broke the spell that bound them, by shouting:
"Hurrah for 'The Harnett!' Hurrah for petroleum!"
In an instant all present, even including George, burst into loud shouts of welcome to the long-confined and valuable product of the earth which was theirs.
During the thirty minutes that the new well spouted, congratulations were poured in on Bob from all sides, for through his efforts had this work been done, and without him it might have been many years before such a scene would have been witnessed on the Simpson wood-lot.
The partners hardly knew how to express their joy. George was quietly happy; but the unusual brilliancy of his eyes and the flush on his cheeks told of the deep but suppressed excitement under which he was laboring. In that steady upward flow of oil he saw a competency for himself and his mother, which he had not dreamed he should secure during many long years of toil, and as he clasped her fervently by the hand, she knew that it was of the many things this well would produce which would add to her comfort that he was thinking.
Old Mr. Simpson and his wife stood with clasped hands, looking at the representation of wealth which was pouring out before them, and in their eyes, even as they gazed, was a far-away look, as if they were thinking of their loved ones who, when on this earth, had been deprived of many of the necessaries of life, while wealth beyond their wildest imaginings lay beneath their very feet.
Ralph was laboring under the most intense excitement, which he strove vainly to suppress. He had not, like George, been obliged to battle with the world for those things which money can buy; but he saw before him a course already marked out, which he had believed he would be obliged to struggle very hard to reach.
Now he was rich, and all those things he had desired could be his.
Jim and Dick were loud in their demonstrations of joy that their last shot had produced such magnificent results; but their old partner, Bob, outstripped them all in loud rejoicings. He had demonstrated beyond the possibility of an argument that his location of the oil belt in the vicinity was correct, and he had done so even as against the theories of those older and more experienced in the business than himself.
In addition, one-quarter of all this was his, and he was what he had long dreamed of being – an oil producer.
The length of time which the well flowed demonstrated the fact that, if it would not produce a thousand barrels of oil per day, the yield would not fall far short of that, and when it finally ceased flowing, Bob was transformed into the steady, hard-working superintendent he had been since the work was first commenced.
It was necessary that something be done at once to save all this oil which was now going to waste, and he directed the workmen at once how they should begin.
Unknown to his partners, Bob had already made arrangements for the building of a tank, and, as soon as the workmen were engaged with the tubing, he started Jim off to town with a message to the contractors that no time might be lost in getting at the work.
Before Jim left, Ralph gave him a message which he wanted him to send to his father. It was short, containing only these words:
"Well just opened. Good for eight hundred barrels per day."
On reading it, Bob insisted that the eight hundred should be changed to one thousand, since that would probably be nearer the actual yield; but Ralph let it remain as it was, preferring to be two hundred barrels short of the actual yield rather than two hundred barrels over.
Mrs. Harnett persuaded George to return to the house as soon as the first flow had ceased; and, aided by Ralph and Mr. Simpson – for the others were too busy to be able to help him – he went back, fancying, as soon as he was away from the well, that he had dreamed of the wonderful things he had seen, and that it could not be a reality.
His friends were not certain whether he had been injured or benefited by the excitement; but he was so thoroughly tired out when he reached his room that he was obliged to go to bed at once, and there he fell into a long, sweet sleep, from which he did not awaken until evening.
As may be imagined, everything was in the greatest state of activity around "The Harnett" during the remainder of that day and all the night, making ready to save the oil which then was being lost, and before the morning came, those who were working at the well decided that even Bob's estimate of a thousand barrels was too small.
"The Harnett" was flowing at the rate of twelve hundred barrels of oil per day, and that represented at least as many dollars, although the price of oil might fall much lower than it then was, when the supply exceeded the demand.
"If there is anybody that thinks now that the oil-belt don't extend up this way, I should like to have them come up and take a squint at 'The Harnett.' She's spouting like a daisy, and I knew she would, from the first," said Bob, as he came in to breakfast next morning, after having worked all night, his joy so great that he did not even feel the fatigue.
George seemed almost well on this morning, and he took his seat with the others at the breakfast-table, much as if he was as strong as any of them, while his looks did not belie his actions.
"I knew you'd be well this morning," said Bob, gleefully, "for no matter how weak you were, such a sight as you saw yesterday would put the strength into you."
And then the ex-moonlighter's tongue rattled on as if it had, as motive power, a greater force than that which sent the oil up through "The Harnett."
Bob was as full of business as ever on this morning. By common consent, and without the necessity of any conversation on the matter, he had been tacitly accepted as superintendent, and it was not possible for him, just then, to spend many idle moments.
Already had the work on the tank been begun, and until it was finished, "The Harnett" would be connected with an empty one, about two miles away, the tubing being already nearly in position.
Bob had sent, the night before, for more workmen, and he confidently expected that by night all the product of "The Harnett" could be saved.
Old Pete, who had acted as a sort of watchman and guard for Bob when he was a moonlighter, had been sent for to fill a similar position at the well, and very many schemes were in progress.
A house was to be built for the accommodation of the workmen, and this Bob insisted Ralph should attend to at once, as it was needed sadly.
Mr. Simpson was charged with making a road to lead from the highway to the well, and since George was not strong enough to do any other work, he was made book-keeper and cashier, as well as general financier.
Jim and Dick were both hired by the owners of "The Harnett," one to act as general messenger and clerk to George, and the other for such important duties as the partners might not be able to attend to.
In fact, before sunset of the day after the well had been opened, each one of the owners was hard at work, and when they had ceased their labors for the day, gathering in George's room, now turned office, for a chat, Bob rather startled them by the information that it was his purpose to sink another well close by the house, as soon as he should get matters straightened out at "The Harnett."
CHAPTER XXXII.
MASSIE'S SCHEME
During the following week, matters went on very smoothly at the well newly opened on Mr. Simpson's wood-lot.
George had continued steadily to improve, and looked quite like his old self, so much good had prosperity done for him. His mother, recognizing the fact that she could no longer be of service to him, and feeling not exactly at home in the rather limited accommodations which the Simpson house afforded, had gone home, while the three boys had settled down as regular boarders, or, rather, guests at the Simpson farm.
The road had been built, the house for the workmen was well under way, and the tank completed. By having this storage place near at hand, the value of "The Harnett" could be definitely settled, and it was found that the well was producing a trifle over twelve hundred barrels of oil every twenty-four hours.
The money which Mr. Gurney had advanced had already been repaid, and it was George's intention to settle for the machinery and tools in a few days more, for they were all anxious to be free from debt.
Ralph's father had replied to the telegram by a letter of congratulation, and had promised to come up there to see the property before Ralph's vacation had expired, for it was by no means the young oil producer's intention to neglect his studies. While the other partners attended to the work at the well, it was his purpose to return to college to finish the regular course he had started on.
It did not seem possible that, now the well was open and flowing so freely, anything could happen to prevent them from becoming wealthy, and that in a comparatively short time; but from this dream of fancied security they were destined to be rather rudely awakened.
One morning, when they were all at the well, while Bob was trying, as he had every day since he first saw oil from "The Harnett," to convince them of the wisdom of boring another well just outside the limits of their own property, but on that of Mr. Simpson's, which was entirely at their service, two men drove up directly in front of them.
Visitors had been so plenty at the well, that neither of the partners paid much attention to these new arrivals. Every one near there had heard Bob Hubbard's predictions that the oil belt embraced Mr. Simpson's property, but without believing him, and when the news went out that he had struck a twelve-hundred-barrel well just where every one believed there was no oil, it seemed as if the people must see it before they could be convinced it was really there.
Almost a constant stream of visitors had been at the well from the day it was opened, and Bob, believing these two men had come simply to assure themselves that what others had said was true, paid no attention to them, but continued his argument with George, as showing how they could open another well further down the gully that should pay as well as this one.
"Can we see Mr. George Harnett and Mr. Ralph Gurney?" asked one of the men, as both advanced toward the lucky owners of "The Harnett."
"Those are the gentlemen," said Bob, carelessly, as he pointed to George and Ralph, and then turned away to attend to some work, believing the visitors had only idle questions to ask.
"And are you Robert Hubbard?" asked the second man, stepping in front of Bob in such a manner as to prevent his leaving the place.
"I am."
"And this, I presume, is Mr. Daniel Simpson?" continued the man, as he pointed to the fourth partner, who had not yet gotten over his surprise at seeing oil flow on his land.
"It is," said Bob, sharply. "Is there any one else around here you wish to see? If there is, call the roll now, for we have nothing else to do but stand up for inspection."
"You four are all we have any business with just now, although in a few moments we shall want to see all who are at work here," said the man who had first spoken; and then, as he produced an official-looking document from his pocket, he added, "Here is an injunction from the court, restraining you from trespassing any further on this property, and from removing anything from it. Here, also, are summonses for you to appear in a suit for ten thousand dollars damages, brought against you by Marcus Massie."
"Massie!" exclaimed Bob, while the others looked at the documents in speechless astonishment. "What have we got to do with him? We don't owe him any money."
"He claims that you have damaged him to the amount named by opening this well without his knowledge or consent," replied the man.
"Well, I like that!" cried Bob, angrily. "Of course we opened it without his knowledge or consent, and perhaps you can tell us why it would have been necessary to consult him about it. What has he got to do with us?"
"Since the well is on his land, and since you have been converting the oil to your own use, he thinks he has a great deal to do with it," replied the second man, who looked very much like a lawyer, while the other was evidently an officer of some kind.
"His land!" cried George; and then all four of the partners looked at each other in a dazed way, as if they had suddenly been deprived of the power of speech.
"Yes, his land," replied the lawyer. "He had a mortgage on all this property, which he foreclosed, and he proposes to take possession of the house at once."
"But – but I paid that mortgage!" cried Mr. Simpson, in a trembling voice. "I paid that mortgage, and have got it now."
"Yes," was the quiet reply. "I understand that by some means you have got the instrument itself in your possession, but if you had got it because you had paid the amount due, you would have received and had recorded a release from Mr. Massie. Have you got that?"
"A release!" repeated the old man, in bewilderment. "I don't rightly understand you. I paid my money and got the mortgage. Wasn't that enough?"
"If you had paid the money," replied the lawyer, with a decided emphasis on the first word, "you would have received a release, and that would have been recorded with the mortgage, otherwise that instrument is in full force."
"But I paid it! I paid it!" wailed the old man.
"I know you did, Mr. Simpson," said George, sternly, "and so does Massie. This is a sharp trick on his part to force us into buying his imaginary claim off, for he tried very hard to get hold of this property in the first place, and would have succeeded if he had not tried to get too much. We will consult a lawyer at once."
"In the meantime, gentlemen," said the lawyer, "I warn you against removing any more oil, or interfering in any way with my client's property."
"I don't suppose you have got an order of the court to prevent the well from flowing, have you?" asked Bob, angrily, making what seemed such unnecessary movements with his hands, that the lawyer stepped several paces backward very quickly.
"This officer will remain in charge of such property as you may own here, since it is attached by Mr. Massie," said the lawyer, evidently thinking it best for him to depart, and getting into the carriage with a celerity that hardly seemed possible in one of his age.
"Oh, he will, will he?" cried Bob, savagely. "Well, I shall stay here in charge of him, and I promise you he won't do anything more here than the law permits him to."
"What can we do?" asked Ralph, as the lawyer drove away, and the officer sauntered around the premises like one who already owned them.
"I don't know what we can do now, except to go into town and consult a lawyer. There is no question but that Massie is trying a little sharp practice, and if it is a possible thing, he will get the best of us," said George. "Ralph, you and I will go into town, while Bob stays here. I suppose we had better take Mr. Simpson with us, so that he can tell all the particulars of paying the money."
"We will telegraph for father," cried Ralph, as if the thought has just occurred to him. "He is a lawyer, and he will help us through with it."
"That's a good idea," replied George; "but we will also see a lawyer in town, so as to know exactly what we ought to do now."
Mr. Simpson followed Ralph and George as they went to the stable, and from time to time he repeated half to himself, as he passed his hand over his forehead, as if to collect his scattered senses:
"I paid the mortgage – I paid the mortgage."
"We know you did, Mr. Simpson, and it will be hard if we can't prove it. At all events, he has not got possession of the property yet, and I do not believe he ever will."
CHAPTER XXXIII.
HOLDING POSSESSION
It was a mournful-looking superintendent Bob made when his partners had left him alone with the officer who was acting as keeper of the property Massie had attached in pursuance of his swindling scheme.
Bob had a wholesome dread of openly defying the law. In a case like moonlighting, where the question of legality had never been definitely settled, he had been prompt enough to take his chances as to whether he was proceeding in strict accordance with, or directly against, the law; but in the present case, where the man whom he would have been most pleased to forcibly eject from the premises was armed with all the powers of the court, Bob was obliged to content himself with thinking what he would like to do.
As the officer sat there near the engine-house, doing no more than was absolutely his duty, Bob looked upon him as simply Mr. Massie's representative, and the temptation to vent his anger by some act of violence was very great.
He restrained himself, however, from saying or doing anything that would entangle him in the meshes of the law; but in order to preserve this outward tranquility, he was obliged to ease his mind in some way, which he did by actually glowering at the innocent officer as though he would "wither him with a glance."
Of course there was a certain amount of work which it was absolutely necessary to do, such as caring for the oil, attending to the engine which forced the oil into the tank, and such things as even the law might not be able to restrain. But the work on the buildings, the sinking of pipes in order to get a supply of gas for illuminating purposes, extending the road from the well to the house, and all that labor which was for the purpose of improvement of the property, was necessarily at an end.
Had George remained, his prudence would have dictated the discharge of all their force of workmen who were not employed exclusively on the well, until the question at law had been settled. But to Bob such a course seemed too much like submitting to what was a deliberate wrong, perpetrated under the guise of justice, and he preferred the expense, rather than even the semblance of "backing down."
The officer may or may not have had a disagreeable time in the pursuance of his duty while Ralph and George were in town; but to Bob it was certainly anything but pleasant, since he had great difficulty in not coming to an open conflict with this personification of law, brought in to aid fraud.
It seemed to the ex-moonlighter as if his companions would never return, and once at least during every ten minutes he walked toward the house, in the hope of seeing them as they came up the lane.
It was not until quite two hours past noon that his vigil was rewarded, and then he saw them coming toward the house with a fourth party in the wagon, whom he rightly conjectured was the lawyer whom they had been to consult.
"Well," he cried, even before they had had time to alight from the wagon; "how have you made out?"
"I haven't got time to tell you now," said George, hurriedly; "but you will hear it all when we are through with what we have to do. Mr. Hillman, the lawyer whom we consulted, and who has come out with us, says that the first and main thing to do is to hold possession, not only of the wood-lot, but of the farm. Massie will attempt this very afternoon to get his men in here, as his lawyer threatened, and if he succeeds we shall be the ones who will have to sue him, instead of his being the outside party, as he is now."
"Can we prevent any one from coming here?" asked Bob, quickly.
"Certainly you can, and must," replied the lawyer. "No one can come here without your permission until after the matter has been decided in court, and you must be careful that no one does."
"That settles it, then," said Bob, gleefully, as he started towards the well. "The first thing I'll do will be to fire out that fellow Massie has got here, and he won't be handled very tenderly either."
"Stop!" cried the lawyer, obliged to speak very loudly, for Bob was some distance away before he had ceased speaking. "That man has a perfect right to be here, for he represents the court in the matter of holding certain movable property until the suit can be decided. What you are to do is simply to prevent unauthorized persons from gaining admittance."
"But how is that going to help matters?"
And Bob was again disconsolate because this revenge had been denied him.
"I prefer to wait until Mr. Gurney can get here before I decide fully on just what shall be done," replied Mr. Hillman. "He stands very high as a lawyer, and his advice in the matter will be worth much more than mine."
"Well," asked the moonlighter, impatiently, "how are we going to prevent any one from coming on the land?"
"That is a very easy matter. With your workmen and yourselves, you ought to form a regular patrol at those few points at which a person could enter, and the law will sustain you in keeping any one away, who does not come armed with an order from the court, even though you use force."
That was sufficient for Bob. Legally entitled to act on the offensive, under certain circumstances, and to defend his and Mr. Simpson's property against all save those coming in the name of the law, there was an opportunity for him to work off some of the anger which he had found so difficult to restrain during the forenoon.
George and Ralph were perfectly willing to let him attend to the defenses, they acting under his orders, and Bob set to work with a feverish energy that boded ill for the perfecting of Mr. Massie's scheme.
Pete was ordered to take up his position at the entrance of the lane which led to the Simpson house, and Mr. Simpson was detailed to see that the negro did his duty. A stout club was all he was allowed as a weapon; but this would be sufficient, it was thought.
Four of the workmen, under the immediate supervision of Jim, were stationed at the road leading to the well, and their orders were peremptory against allowing any one to enter unless with the express permission of Mr. Hillman, who, if any papers purporting to be orders from the court were presented, would first examine them to learn if they were correct.
Four more men, under Dick, were stationed along the front of the property, with orders to patrol the entire line, and three others were stationed around the house, under Ralph's charge.
Bob intended to have a personal supervision of all the points of defense, and in order that he might move about more readily, he had one of his horses saddled, by which means of locomotion he could visit each of his sentries at least once every half hour.
The officer who had been stationed at the works as keeper of the property Massie had attached, was informed that he would be considered a trespasser, and treated as such, if he attempted to go anywhere except just where those articles were which he was expected to guard.
George and the lawyer were thus left free from any duty of guarding the place, and this Bob very wisely concluded was necessary, since they might be obliged to go to town at any moment.
Mrs. Simpson was set at work cooking up a quantity of food for the defenders of the castle, and this Bob proposed to carry to them himself, for he did not intend that one of his men should leave his post, even for a moment.
After all this was done, Bob had time to talk with George and Mr. Hillman relative to the interview that had been held in town.
Mr. Simpson had remained in the same dazed condition he had fallen into when Massie's attorney first appeared, and had been unable to repeat a single word of the interview he had had with the money-lender when he paid off the mortgage, or to remember what had been done at the time.
The records had been searched, however, and no release had been found; therefore, it was plain that Mr. Simpson's ignorance of such matters had caused him to neglect to ask for one.
The probabilities were that Mr. Massie, after learning of the valuable well which had been found on this property which might have been his had he not tried to gain possession of the whole farm, had taken advantage of this oversight on the part of his debtor, and, although he had been repaid the borrowed money, intended to deny that he had ever received it.
That Mr. Hillman had fears of the ultimate result was shown by his desire to consult with Mr. Gurney before taking any steps in the matter, other than to hold possession of the property, and all the partners save Mr. Simpson, who did not seem to be able to understand anything just then, felt that there was a possibility that they might lose "The Harnett" after all their labor and rejoicing.
Bob was by no means easy in his mind when he left Mr. Hillman and George to begin his rounds of the outposts; but he was determined that, since all they could do was to hold possession, no one not legally entitled to it should gain admittance to the place.
For two hours, during which Bob had made his rounds four times, nothing had been seen to indicate that any one had even a desire to enter the Simpson farm, and then, while Bob was talking with the old man, trying to force him to remember all he had done while at Mr. Massie's office, three wagons filled with men were seen down the road coming directly toward the place.
There could be no question but that this was the money-lender's party coming to take possession, and they were in larger force than any one had anticipated.
Riding quickly to the house, Bob ordered Ralph and his men to join Pete and Mr. Simpson, and then he called in Dick and his men, giving these last orders to proceed at once to support Jim, in case any of the newcomers attempted to go that way.
He thought, however, that the greatest trouble would be had at the lane, and he believed he was fully prepared for it.
