A QUEER SUMMONS
"Am I seeing straight, and is it really the Rovers?" exclaimed John
Franklin, when confronted by the boys.
"You are seeing straight enough, Mr. Franklin," answered Fred, as he
shook hands first with the father and then the son. "Is your claim
around here?"
"No, our claim is some miles from here," answered John Franklin. "It's
at a place called Pottown."
"I've heard of that place," said Jack, as he too shook hands, as did the
others. "They say there are quite a few oil wells in that neighborhood."
"What have you done about your claim, if I may ask?" questioned Randy.
"Oh, I've got myself all straightened out," said Mr. Franklin, with a
broad smile. "You see, when I got down here I played in luck right from
the start. Those swindlers had got tired of trying to do something on my
farm, and then I ran into an old friend of mine who was a lawyer. He
took the matter up for me, and the swindlers got scared and all of them
quit the claim over night; so I am now in sole possession."
"And have you struck oil?" asked Jack.
"No, I haven't got that far yet, but I have great hopes of going ahead.
You see, I'm handicapped for money. I could get some capitalists
interested, but they generally want the lion's share of the proceeds,
and that I don't want to give them."
"I don't blame you," said Fred. "You ought to get the most of the money
if the oil is found on your land."
"I'm telling dad to take his time," put in Phil Franklin. "The land
won't run away, and the more oil wells that are producing around us, the
more valuable our place will become."
"But what brought you young fellows down here?" questioned the man. "Are
you on a sightseeing tour?"
"Not altogether," answered Jack. "My father is interested in a claim
down here, and he allowed us to come along with him." And thereupon he
gave some of the particulars.
John Franklin listened attentively to the story, and his eyes flashed
angrily when the names of Tate and Jackson were mentioned.
"Those are the swindlers who were trying to do me out of my property!"
he ejaculated. "And I'm of the opinion this Carson Davenport was in with
them. They are a bunch of crooks, and nothing else. They ought all to be
in prison."
"Well, they'll land there sooner or later if they don't look out,"
returned Fred.
"If I was your father I would have nothing to do with this Davenport or
the men acting with him," went on Mr. Franklin to Jack.
"Do you know anything at all about the Lorimer Spell claim?"
"I don't know anything about what has happened lately so far as that
claim is concerned," was John Franklin's reply. "But I do know when oil
was first discovered in this region some of the experts went over the
whole territory carefully and they did not consider the Spell claim as
being of any value. That's the reason no wells were located there. They
claimed that the geological formation was not good for oil."
"Oh! then you mean to say there is no oil on that claim?" questioned
Fred disappointedly.
"I don't know anything about it, lad. I am only telling you what the
experts said. Those fellows miss it once in a while, just the same as
other people. At the same time, if an expert doesn't think ground is
worth drilling for oil, you can make up your mind that the chances of
striking it rich there are very slim."
"But are you sure the experts went over it very carefully?" questioned
Andy.
"I am."
"And who were they?"
"They were from Wichita Falls--a firm by the name of Fitch and
Lunberry."
"Then probably if my father wanted it he could get a report from Fitch
and Lunberry," said Jack.
"I think he could--provided, of course, he was willing to pay for it.
These experts don't work for nothing!" and John Franklin grinned.
"If you stay down here any length of time I wish you'd come over to our
place and see us," said Phil Franklin.
"We'll be sure to do that," answered Randy.
"Maybe I can get your uncle interested in my land," suggested Mr.
Franklin. "I wish he'd look it over. It wouldn't cost him anything."
"I'll speak to dad about it," answered Jack quickly. There was something
about the Franklins which had pleased him ever since he had first known
them. They appeared to be perfectly honest and reliable.
Accompanied by the Franklins, the Rovers tramped around the various oil
wells located in and near Derrickville. Mr. Franklin understood a great
deal about the wells and the machinery, and explained these things in an
interesting way, so the afternoon passed quickly. Almost before they
knew it the Rovers had to say good-bye and start on the return trip with
Mr. Bradley.
"Gee, I wonder if what Mr. Franklin said about the Spell claim can be
true!" remarked Jack, on the way to Columbina.
"He ought to know what he is talking about, Jack," answered Fred. "And
certainly he had no axe to grind in the matter. He doesn't want to see
Uncle Dick throw his money away."
Two more days passed, and still Dick Rover did not return from Wichita
Falls. The boys went out sightseeing and amused themselves as best they
could, but this was not saying much. The most fun they had was in a
shooting-gallery where they astonished the proprietor by the bull's-eyes
they made.
"You young fellows are some shots," said he. "You must be used to guns."
"We are," answered Fred.
The four Rovers had gone into the target gallery directly after supper
and while it was still light. Now, when they came out, Jack suggested
that they return to the hotel.
"We might send out a letter or two," he suggested, "and I'd like to look
over a newspaper if I can find one."
The Rovers were heading in the direction of the hotel when, glancing
across the street, they saw Nappy Martell and Slugger Brown.
"They seem to be watching us," declared Jack.
"Probably they'd like to know what we intend to do," answered Randy. "I
think we might as well ignore them," he went on, as he saw Nappy and
Slugger crossing the muddy roadway.
"Hello!" called Slugger coolly. "We've been looking for you fellows."
"Looking for us!" exclaimed Fred.
"Yes, we found out you were not at the hotel, and so we thought you must
be somewhere around town."
"What do you want of us?" demanded Jack suspiciously.
"We came to see you on Gabe Werner's account," answered Nappy. As he
spoke he showed that he was nervous.
"On Gabe Werner's account! What do you mean?"
"I guess you had better ask Gabe about that," answered Slugger. "He's
very anxious to see all of you--wants to see you this evening, too."
"Where is he?"
"We left him at a house up on the Derrickville road. It's about half a
mile or so out of town," answered Slugger.
"Is he sick?" questioned Fred.
"He's worse than that--he's down and out," answered Nappy. "But he said
to tell all of you that he wanted to see you this evening sure--that
to-morrow morning wouldn't do."
"See here, Nappy, is this some sort of trick?" demanded Jack bluntly.
"If it is, I want to tell you right now it won't work."
"It's no trick. How could it be? We are all alone, and we're not armed.
We are doing this solely because Gabe Werner asked us to do it. He
couldn't come himself, not with a broken leg."
"Oh, then he has broken his leg, has he?" said Andy, with something of
sympathy in his voice. "That, of course, is another matter." He turned
to the others. "I'm willing to go and see him if you are."
"All right, let's go," put in Fred.
"We'll go," said Jack, after a few whispered words to Randy. "But you
remember what I said, both of you. If this is a trick we'll see to it
that you get the worst of it."
"You'll find out that it's no trick as soon as you get to the house,"
declared Slugger Brown.
He and Nappy Martell led the way, and soon the whole crowd had left
Columbina behind and were trudging along the muddy road leading to
Derrickville. The way was dark and anything but inviting, and all of
them made slow progress.
"The house is over there in the field," said Slugger presently, as he
came to a halt. "You needn't be afraid, because there are only a very
old man and a woman living there. Gabe Werner has been boarding with
them since he came down here."
"Are you fellows working for Carson Davenport?" questioned Randy.
"We expect to work for him, yes. But nothing has been settled as yet,"
answered Nappy. "He has offered us thirty dollars a week, but we think
we can get more than that elsewhere," he added loftily.
"And what of Werner? Is he going to work with you?"
"That was the idea," answered Slugger. "But I don't know what he'll do
now. He's certainly in bad shape."
"How did he get his leg broken?"
"He didn't tell us a word about it," answered Nappy. "There is something
queer about the whole transaction. But he said he must see all of you
Rovers and do it to-night. What he's got on his mind, I don't know."
The Rovers hardly knew what to do. They were unarmed, and the place
certainly looked like a lonely one. They wondered if it would be
possible for Carson Davenport and his crowd to be at the house waiting
for them.
"You and Slugger go ahead," Jack said. "We'll follow behind. And mark
you, no tricks!"
"There is nothing to be afraid of," Slugger assured him. And then he and
Nappy stalked off in the fast-gathering darkness. They walked up to the
lonely house, and disappeared around a corner of the building.
"Say, Jack, this doesn't look right to me at all," announced Fred. "I
wish I had a pistol."
"I'm going to arm myself with a club," said Randy, and looked around for
such a weapon.
The others did the same, two of them picking up sticks and the others
arming themselves with stones. Then they advanced with caution, keeping
their eyes wide open for the appearance of anything that might look
dangerous.
"I don't see any light around the place," announced Jack, as they drew
closer.
"I wonder what became of Nappy and Slugger?" broke in Fred. "I don't see
them anywhere."
"Suppose we call them," suggested Andy.
"Let us walk around the house first," returned his twin. "They may have
gone in by the back way. Most of the folks living around here use the
back door for everything."
With added caution the Rover boys walked slowly around one side of the
building. In the rear they found everything as dark and deserted as in
the front.
"This is certainly strange," announced Jack. He advanced and knocked
sharply on the closed door.
There was no reply, and he knocked a second time. Then Randy beat upon
the door with his stick.
"It looks to me as if there wasn't a soul in the place," announced Andy.
"I wonder what has become of Nappy and Slugger?"
"See here, will you?" cried Fred suddenly. "It looks to me as if nobody
lived here. Every one of the windows is boarded up on the inside. I
believe this house is being used for nothing but a storehouse. I don't
believe a soul lives here."
"Hello, Nappy! Hello, Slugger!" called out Jack loudly. "Where are you?"
To this call there was no reply.