Ralph Gurney's Oil Speculation Part 28

The examination did not last very long. George told of the theft of his team, of his pursuing the thieves, in company with Ralph and Bob, and of all that occurred up to the time he left his companions to go to Mr.

Simpson's for his instruments.

"Then," he said, "when I had got nearly half way from where I had left my friends at the house, these men stepped from among the bushes directly in front of me, and one demanded the paper which I held in my hand. I refused to give it to him, and as I did so, before I had time to act on the defensive, the elder of the men struck me full in the face.

I at once began to defend myself, but it was two to one, and in a very short time a blow on the head from some hard substance felled me to the ground, unconscious."

That was all George could tell, and Ralph and Bob were both called to the stand to testify to what they knew, both of the theft of the team and of the finding of George.

Mr. Simpson, Jim and d.i.c.k were also ready to testify as to the condition of George when they found him and when they carried him into the house, but their evidence was not needed then, nor was the doctor's, who had examined and attended the wounded youth.

Beyond asking one or two unimportant questions of each witness, the accused had nothing to say for themselves, or in contradiction of what had been testified to, and the judge committed them without bail for trial at the next term of court.

As soon as the examination was over, Bob went to the office of the torpedo works, and there contracted for the necessary amount of material to "shoot" the well, and also stipulated that he be given permission to do the work.

At first this was refused peremptorily, on the ground that it was a dangerous operation, and that he would probably succeed only in killing himself.

Bob understood at once that he was not recognized, and he asked if Mr.

Newcombe was in the building. That gentleman was in, and appeared very shortly after he was sent for, greeting Bob as heartily as if they had always been the best of friends rather than enemies.

"Mr. Newcombe, I have come for an eighty-quart charge, with the stipulation that I can work it myself in the well on the Simpson farm, of which I own one quarter. This gentleman refuses, because he is afraid I may kill myself. Won't you vouch for my skill in the matter?"

"Indeed I will," was the hearty reply; "and if you will buy all your charges in the same manner, I shall have very much less work to do."

"I've stopped all that work now," said Bob, solemnly, "and so far as I am concerned, you won't have another night's drive for moonlighters."

Of course, after Mr. Newcombe's introduction, Bob had no difficulty in gaining the desired permission, and he joined those who were waiting for him outside, happy in the thought that, as he expressed it, "'The Harnett' would have a chance next day to show what she could do."

CHAPTER x.x.x.

LEGAL MOONLIGHTERS.

When the boys arrived at the Simpson farm-house, after the close of the examination, there was very little they could do save talk over that which was to be done on the morrow, when the value of "The Harnett" was to be decided.

A portion of the tubing to be used in case there was any flow of oil, was already on the ground, and the remainder would be hauled by noon of the next day at the latest. There were no cartridges to prepare, for the Torpedo Company's workmen would attend to all that, delivering both the tin cases and the glycerine ready for use.

Everything was done that could be, and in a few hours more the casing of rock, which might or might not cover a large deposit of oil, would be blown out.

As sanguine as Bob had been from the first that a large yield of oil would be found, he was exceedingly nervous now that the time for the question to be settled was near at hand. Not but that he was still as positive as ever that they should strike oil, but he began to fear that it might not be found in such quant.i.ty as he had imagined.

He would talk for a few moments with the boys, then find some pretext for going to the well, over which a guard had been set to prevent any evil-disposed parties from tampering with it, and once there he was quite as eager to get back to his partners as he had been to leave them.

In fact, he was in the highest degree nervous, and had not the others been afflicted in a similar way, they would have noticed his condition.

Mr. Simpson was in such a disturbed mental condition that he went about his work in a dazed sort of way, until his wife insisted on his sitting on the wood-pile, where if he did no good he could at least do no harm, while she did the ch.o.r.es for him.

On hearing Bob say, for at least the tenth time since he returned from town, that everything was all right at the well, the old man did "pull himself together" sufficiently to do the milking, and then no sooner had he performed that task than he forgot what he had done, and tried to do the whole work over again, remembering his previous accomplishment only when one of the cows kicked the empty pail over, and very nearly served him in the same way.

Jim and d.i.c.k were not as anxious regarding the yield of the well; therefore, they were in a state of excitement only because they were to be at what would be very nearly their old moonlighting tricks again, and were simply impatient for the time to come when they could be at work.

They spent their time sitting on a rather sharp rail of the fence, bemoaning Bob's obstinacy in not having the well shot in regular moonlighter's fashion, without being so weak-kneed as to buy the right to do simply what no one ought to be allowed to prevent him from doing.

Ralph and George were inwardly as excited as any one else, but outwardly very much more calm. They sat in the latter's room, talking over the prospects of striking a goodly quant.i.ty of oil, while, despite all they could do, the conversation would come around to what the result would be in case "The Harnett" proved to be a dry well. They knew that all the bills had been contracted in their names, since they were the sole owners at the time the work was commenced, and in case of a failure, they would find themselves burdened with such a load of debt that it would take them a very long time to clear it off.

Even at that late hour they regretted that Bob had commenced to sink the well, and it is extremely probable that if it had been possible to undo all that had been done, leaving the land exactly as it was before the signs of oil were discovered, they would gladly have agreed to forego all their dream of wealth.

Whether Mrs. Harnett and Mrs. Simpson also suffered from suspense that evening it is hard to say; but certain it is that they were more silent than usual, and the former sewed remarkably fast, while the latter's knitting-needles clicked with unusual force.

It was a trying time for all in that house. Had it been daylight, when they could have been at work, the hours would not have seemed nearly as long; but, in the evening, the time pa.s.sed so slowly that it almost seemed as if there was a conspiracy of the clocks, and that their hands were only moving about half as fast as they should have done.

Then came the night, when every one went to bed and tried to sleep; but three in that household succeeded very badly, and who those three were may be very easily imagined.

Next morning, every one was up so early that the hens were frightened from their roosts half an hour before their regular time, and the breakfast had been eaten fully an hour before it was customary to begin to prepare it.

George showed the effects of his anxiety very plainly, and had his mother not feared the suspense would be worse for him than the fatigue, she would have tried to induce him to remain in the house instead of going to the well as had been agreed upon.

Bob, who had visited the scene of operations before breakfast, again announced that "everything was all right," and that one more load of tubing would give them sufficient.

Under the pretext that there were a great many things which it was necessary for him to attend to, while everyone knew he was simply inventing work for the purpose of hiding his anxiety, he insisted that Ralph, Jim and d.i.c.k should help George out to the well when he was ready to come, and then he hurried away.

The charge would not be exploded until nearly noon, and on the night before it had been agreed that George should not venture out until a short time before the decisive moment; but now that the time was so near at hand, he could not remain in the house, and the result was that his mother and Ralph agreed he should go at once.

An easy chair was carried out in the grove, and placed at a safe distance from the well, but where he could have a good view of what was going on. Then, with Ralph at one side, d.i.c.k at the other, Mrs. Simpson ahead, carrying a foot-stool and a fan, and his mother in the rear, with a bottle of salts and an umbrella, the cortege started, its general dignity sadly marred when the party were obliged to climb the fence.

Bob was nowhere to be seen when the invalid and his attendants arrived at the reserved seat, but before he was comfortably seated the superintendent came up with another announcement that "everything was all right," and aided them in disposing of George.

He was comfortably seated under a large tree, with Mrs. Harnett and Mrs.

Simpson on either side of him, and, so far as could be judged, was quite as well off there as he would have been in the house. Once he was where he could see what was going on, and viewing the works for the first time, the haggard look left his face, thus showing the wisdom of his friends in not preventing him from coming when he wanted to.

The first arrival, after the spectators had a.s.sembled, was the last load of tubing, and Bob's only trouble was, or he professed that it was, that they would lose so much oil before they could make arrangements for storing it.

As the time went on, Bob was the only one who had anything to do, and those who watched him insisted that he simply did the same work over and over again.

Finally, when every one began to fear that the Torpedo Company had entirely forgotten their contract, a wagon, similar to the one owned by Bob, drove up with the long tin tubes on the uprights, and the box evidently stored with the dangerous liquid.

In an instant the moonlighters were changed boys. All their nervousness or listlessness was gone, and in its place a bustling, consequential air that was almost ludicrous.

All three of the boys helped unload the wagon, and when the driver attempted to do his share, they plainly told him that all he would be allowed to do was to fasten his horses, if he wanted to see the operation, or to drive away if he was not interested in it. He chose the latter course, and, save for the workmen, the party most interested in "The Harnett" were left alone.

Bob critically examined the cartridges, making many unfavorable comparisons between them and the ones he had been in the habit of making, and then began the work of fastening the reel to the derrick, as well as setting the upright in position, which served as a guide to the rope that was to lower the cartridges in position.

When that was done--and the moonlighters did not hurry in their work, anxious as they had been before, for they were determined that this last shot of theirs should be a perfect success--the more delicate task of filling the cartridges was begun.

There were four of these, each capable of holding twenty quarts, and the spectators were not wholly at their ease, as can after can of the explosive fluid was poured into these frail-looking vessels, even though the moonlighters handled it much more carefully than Ralph had seen them handle that which had been used at the Hoxie well, on the famous night when Mr. Newcombe guarded their hut for them.

As each tube was filled, the boys lowered it into position in the well, and the nervous anxiety which had a.s.sailed them the night before again took possession of Ralph and George.

At last everything was ready for the launching of the iron bolt, which was to call into activity the explosive ma.s.s, that was to shatter the rock under which it was hoped the oil was concealed. The moment had come when the value or worthlessness of "The Harnett" was to be decided.