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 quantity 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 chores 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 Dick 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 quantity 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 passed 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 Dick 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, Dick 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 assembled, 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 assailed 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 mass, 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.