Ralph Gurney's Oil Speculation

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.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

THE MISSING WITNESS

Bob had hardly called the main portion of his men to the point which was threatened by the money-lender's party, when the wagons reached the entrance to the lane, and the occupants began to get out.

"You cannot enter here!" cried Bob, as the first man started toward the lane, as if he would force his way past those who were guarding the entrance.

"I am sent here by the owner of the property, and it is my intention not only to go in, but to drive away those who are intruding here," replied the man, in an offensive tone.

"Well," cried Bob, the anger which he had kept under control with greatest difficulty during the day now gaining the ascendancy, "it may first be necessary for you to get in before you drive any one out, and I warn you that you attempt to enter at your peril. I am here by the orders of the true owner of the property, and it will be a mighty hard show for you to get in, since my instructions are to keep every one out."

By this time Mr. Hillman had arrived at the scene of the threatened trouble, and he said, loudly, so that all might hear him:

"Gentlemen, the owner of this property is Mr. Daniel Simpson, my client. Acting under my advice, he refuses to allow any one to enter on his farm, and for that purpose has a body of men here to defend his rights. I warn you that you will be rendering yourselves liable to prosecution if you attempt to enter here against his express orders to the contrary."

For a moment those who had been sent by Massie retreated to the wagons, as if unwilling to do anything which might bring them in conflict with the majesty of the law, and it seemed very much as if they were going to leave the place, when the lawyer who had first visited the well, and who had accompanied them, called out:

"You know very well that this is Mr. Massie's property, since he has foreclosed the mortgage he held upon it, and if, in obeying his orders, you do anything which renders you liable to the law, it will be him, not you, who will be obliged to answer for your actions. I insist upon your going into the lane."

"It will be their heads which will get cracked, at all events, if they attempt to come in here!" cried Bob, almost beside himself with rage; "and if you think we haven't the right or the inclination to knock down the first man who tries to come in, why don't you lead the way, to shew that you are not frightened?"