Ralph Gurney's Oil Speculation Part 24

"Yes, sir, and tanks of it!" replied Jim.

"I am more glad than I can say," replied the old man, fervently, "for now you and Mr. Harnett will be rewarded for your generosity to an old man whom you hardly knew or cared for. It was not to be that I should have it, and it wouldn't have done me much good if I had, for mother an'

I are most ready to leave this world, an' we haven't a child or a chick to be gladdened by the money. Why, Mr. Gurney, I'm as pleased for you as if it was all mine."

And Mr. Simpson shook the boy by the hand in a hearty way that left no doubt of the truth of what he said.

"But if there is oil there, Mr. Simpson, you own as much as George and I do, for we settled on that yesterday."

"No, no!" and the old man shook his head decidedly. "When I sold the land, I believed I was getting the full value for it, and you didn't care whether it was worth what you paid or not. What you bought is yours, and there's no gainsaying that. I suspected there was somethin'

more'n wood on that land when I went to pay Ma.s.sie the money, for when he found that I had the full amount, he offered to pay me my price for the wood-lot, and when I told him I'd sold it, he offered to give me the whole mortgage just for that piece of land."

"There!" exclaimed Ralph, as if Mr. Simpson had just told him something which it was to his advantage to hear. "Now you can see why we should give you one-third of the land. If you had come to us then, and told us that you had a better offer for it, we should have been only too well pleased to give it up. Now, if what Bob says is true, you shall still own a third of the lot."

Mr. Simpson shook his head, to show he would not permit of such generosity, and Ralph did not care to discuss the matter any further, for he and George had already decided what to do.

"If what Bob says is true!" cried Jim. "Why, there's no question about it, for there the oil is where you can see it for yourself."

"Still, it may not turn out as he expects," objected Ralph, as if determined not to believe in his good fortune; and the moonlighters, really angry at such obstinacy, refused to argue with him any longer.

They insisted that Mr. Simpson should go with them to see the fortune that had been his, without his being aware of the fact, and while they were away Bob returned.

He had two men with him, who appeared as intent on business as Bob did, for all three walked past Ralph without speaking, going directly into the wood-lot.

During fully an hour, Ralph sat on the wood-pile, wondering if it could be possible that he was wrong in refusing to believe what all the others seemed so certain of, and then Bob and the men came back, accompanied by Mr. Simpson and the two moonlighters, all looking as if they could hardly contain themselves because of joy.

"We will start the engine and lumber right up here, Mr. Hubbard," said one of the men, as he pa.s.sed Ralph, "and you can send for what you want, with the understanding that the owners of the land will ratify all your bargains."

"Well, as for that, you can judge for yourselves, so far as one of the owners is concerned; the other is not able to transact any business,"

said Bob, turning suddenly toward Ralph, and, greatly to that young gentleman's surprise, saying, "Gentlemen, this is Mr. Ralph Gurney, who owns one-half the property, as Mr. Simpson has told you."

"You are a very fortunate young man," said the gentleman who had been speaking with Bob. "You authorize Mr. Hubbard to act for you, I suppose?"

"Yes, sir," replied Ralph, too much dazed to know exactly what he was saying.

"There! what did I tell you?" cried Bob, as Jim drove away with the men, in order to bring the team back. "They will supply everything we need to open the well, and simply because they have seen what you did not think was of very much account. I have hired the men to build the derrick, and before you go to bed to-night you will have seen the work begun on your oil well."

"But, Bob," asked Ralph, in a tone that was almost piteous, and which sounded so comical, under the circ.u.mstances, that even Mr. Simpson laughed heartily at it, "do they think the same about it that you do?"

"Well, you heard what was said about supplying anything we needed, and people don't say such things, even up this way, unless they mean them.

Now we shall need some considerable money, and I advise you to write to your father, telling him of what you own, and asking him to come on here prepared to help you. If he won't do it I can get all the money we need; but we shall have to pay considerable for the use of it."

Ralph made no objection, nor advanced any further argument; he was in that condition of mind when he was not capable of any resistance, and he obeyed Bob's orders as meekly as if there was no way by which he could refuse.

Ralph's letter was by no means one of such glowing description as Bob would have written. It was a plain statement of facts, begun by an account of how he and George came to buy the property, of the chase for the thieves, when they had their first intimation of the value of the property, of the accident to George, of Bob's discovery, and lastly of the opinion of the Bradford merchants, who were ready to supply, on credit, everything which was necessary for the opening of the well.

When the letter was read to Bob in its entirety, he did not disapprove of it, nor was he very much pleased. All he ventured to say was:

"It is lucky for you, Gurney, that the oil showed up so plainly that those who know a gold dollar when they see it were not so frightened about giving credit as you are about stating facts."

Then d.i.c.k was sent to Sawyer to post the letter, and while he was away the workmen whom Bob had engaged had arrived.

Ralph went with him when he directed them to clear away for the erection of the derrick and engine-house, and by the time the first load of lumber had arrived, he had begun to feel the effects of the oil fever.

The preparations going on everywhere around, the comments of the workmen as they saw the show of oil, the ringing blows of axes, and shouts of the teamsters, all lent an air of realism to Bob's words which Ralph had failed to see or feel before.

It was for him, even though it had been against his wishes, that all these men were working, and for him would accrue the profits, if indeed there were any.

Bob had been as good as his word; before Ralph went to bed that night he had seen the work begun, and already was he beginning to feel that perhaps all Bob's predictions might be verified.

CHAPTER XXVI.

DRILLING AN OIL WELL.

There was no material change in George's condition on the morning after work had been begun on the oil well. The physicians declared that he was getting along as well as could be hoped for, and the nurse gave it as her opinion that he would recover much sooner than any one had believed.

Therefore, the boys were not troubled about their friend more than might be expected.

On this day, work was begun on the derrick, and, as may be imagined, all the boys were on the spot to see it, Ralph's belief in the success of the venture growing stronger and stronger as the framework arose in the air.

On the third day George's mother arrived, and the boys were thus relieved of all responsibility, so far as the care of their friend was concerned.

It was on the evening of the same day that Mrs. Harnett came that Ralph's father arrived.

After receiving his son's letter, he had thought the matter of sufficient importance, somewhat to Ralph's surprise, to warrant his paying a visit to the oil fields, and had written to Ralph to meet him at Bradford.

Despite the fact that Bob could borrow on the strength of the property as much money as he needed to carry on the work, he was very anxious to convince Mr. Gurney of the value of his scheme, and on the day when that gentleman was to arrive, insisted that Ralph should go to Bradford with him early in the afternoon, in order that he might be able to arrange with the gentlemen of whom they were purchasing their supplies to meet Mr. Gurney, and tell him exactly what they thought of the proposed well.

Thanks to Bob's activity, Mr. Gurney was able to see all those who had inspected the property on that same evening, and was considerably surprised by these interviews.

After receiving Ralph's letter, he had thought that possibly the boys might have a site for a well which would pay to open, and he had come on believing that it was not a matter of very great importance.

When he had been introduced to Bob, and had heard that young gentleman's flowery description of the vast amount of wealth which was only waiting to be brought to the surface of the earth, he was disposed to look upon it as a visionary scheme, the value of which only existed in the moonlighter's mind.

Bob had been accustomed to have his statements received in that same way, and for that reason had arranged for Mr. Gurney to meet those whose judgment he could fully rely upon.

These gentlemen a.s.sured him that the well promised to be a rich one; that the signs of oil were remarkably good, and that they had no hesitation in agreeing with Bob, as they had done, to supply anything which might be needed to open the well.

Thus, even before he had seen the property, Mr. Gurney believed that his son was in a fair way to enrich himself through his deed of charity.

In the present crowded condition of the Simpson farm-house Mr. Gurney could find no accommodations for living there, and, since he was to remain in Bradford, the boys had made their arrangements to remain there also over night, in order that they might take him out to the oil-well early in the morning.

On the following day, Mr. Gurney drove out to look at the property. He saw that the work was well under way, and heard sufficient from the workmen to convince him of the fact that every one who had seen the place believed a well would yield plentifully.

Mr. Gurney's business would not permit of his remaining in the oil region but one day, and when Ralph drove him to the depot that night, he gave him formal permission to draw on him at sight for all necessary expenses.

After this, had it been possible, Bob would have hurried the work still faster along, but he had already urged matters on as fast as possible, and all he could do was to insist on Ralph, Jim and d.i.c.k doing as much work as one of the laborers, he setting the example.