Evening journal., 1891-08-03
THE ''GUSHER. !"


Old man Rabenholtz was a good nature.
German, who owned a farm in the oi
country, and he talked mostly with hi
hands, because he did not have a read
command OF words. His frau" on tia
contrary, planted her fists in her sides an,
kept them there when she had anvtbin,
to say, which was the case most of NJ,
time. The old man once told me conf,
dentially that she even talked in her sleen
She used the German and the EngIisl
idiom in a grotesque mixture of her owr
invention, with which TO express view,
that were strictly individual, very EN-
phat1cs and evidently uncontradictable fol
everybody agreed with her beforehand.
Their daughter Veronika, or Vroni fol
short, had beautiful blonde hair, blue eve,
and saucy dimple in her chin.
Greasy Joe loved Vroni and yroni re
turned his affection-Sundays On week
days she had no regard for him, though he
boarded with the Rabenholtzes, because be
was very, very dirty. He drilled oil wells,
and his working clothes sbone with every
known variety of grease, from crude peUro.
leum to machine oil, while odd streaks
and patches of plumbago and axle grease
smeared bis nose and cheeks.
| On Sunday he disguised himself in clean
clothes and washed his face and hands.
Then he was quite presentable, and Vroni
liked him. Everybody else in the oil fields
| liked Joe, because he was honest and good
natured, and liberal with his tobacco.
Frau Rabenholtz had noticed the attach.
ment between the young people. but.
though she did not approve of it. she did
not care to say so in the fear of losing her
boarder
One day, however, she was bending over
the kitchen fire, when Vroni asked her:
Ma, can l drive over to Butler today9
Joe wants me to 20 with him.
Ma knit her brows, placed her arms
akimbo, examined her daughter critically
from top to toe with a sharp, searching
look, and wanted to know "What Joesp
though she knew well who was meant.
Nroni told her, and she retorted:
.Nein, you cannot 90. | want to haf you
ride away quick here to hellup cook der din
ner NIT me. You vas got no time Ia rup
der goundry apout nit dot greasy Tchoe.
He vas holdings, he hef got holdings, und
ouf you haf der choice for him oder his
boss, you pedder take der Won vat has der
most money. Money alone don't made you
happy onless you vas got some" with
which she handed the wooden cooking
spoon to poor Vroni and left the kitchen.
Now iC happened that Joe's boss, "Dry
Hole Tim" drove up to the house about
ten minutes later and wanted to know Ell
he could take my o. the folks down Butler
way" Strange enough, Mrs. Rabenholtz
seemed to forget entirely that she needed
Vroni in the kitchen, and insisted upon
her going TO Butler with Tim to get some
baking powder and a new washboard.
Nroni would have much preferred to 90
with Greasy Joe, and she kept thinking OF
him all the way, though her companion
tried his very best to be entertaining. She
certainly did not like Tim. albeit he was
very much better looking than Joe, Wort
good clothes every day, and wore an i'm
mense imitation diamond in his necktie
But he had the reputation of being
rogue and Of being given to sharp prac
tiees. One Of the stories told of him was
that, when informed that a well he was
drilling had struck hard sand and no oil,
he said, well, then, the division will be
so much easier, because there are twelve
eighths Of this well sold" He had disposed
Of an eighth interest to twelve different
men, and in the end, Of course, no one re
eeived any benefit except himself.
Fate, however, seemed to be against
Tim, despite his Vaccinations, for out Of
seventeen wells which he had drilled no
less than thirteen proved unproductive-
dry holes, as they are called. Hence his
nickname.
Vroni laid her plans for giving her escort
the slip while he was talking, and she did.
it beautifully. And Tim saw her no more
that day after once they had put up the
horse at the livery stable.
Doc Stewart tells me that at dusk be
met two very happy young people driving
toward the Rabenholtz farm One OF them.
was Vroni; the other was not Dry Hole
Tim, but might have been Greasy Joe
The doctor does not know the latter when
dressed up, because he had only seen him
in working clothes.
When it is stated here that old man Rab
enholtz remained strictly neutral in the
matter concerning his daughters prefer
ence, then the foregoing will suffice to de
fine the mutual feelings of the actors in
the story which follows.
The Rabenholtz farm of 175 acres was
considered desirable property by oil men.
being situated on what operators call the
oil belt But the old man had so far re-
Trained from leasing the right to prospect
for oil thereon, until Dry Hole Tim, with
the assistance of Frau Rabenholtz, had pre-.
vailed upon him to lease it for a considera,
tion Of five dollars an acre annually, with
Tim as lessee
They used 10 have barrel of well. they
had barrel over at the farm every sun.
day, and Squire Schaffhouser, of Butler.
made ii point of honor to assist in enlpty.
ing the aforesaid barrel
So one Sunday the old farmer asked him
after dinner to draw up the lease. Tim IN.
sisted upon the date Of the contract being
changed to a day or two ahead in order 10
make it legal. As nobody knew what day
OF the month it was Vroni fetched the
Farmers Almanac and Crop Adviser
.--cm the wall pocket in the kitchen.
The lease was dated Aug 49, which, ac.
cording to the almanac, would be the Tues.
day following.
Squire Schaffhouser had been rather
assiduous in the matter Of emptying the
BARREL and consequently things in gen.
eral and the oil lease in particular, ap.
peared to him utterly frivolous and unini.
portant. lie scarcely knew what he was
writing, and neither he nor old Raben.
holtz, nor Joe, who stood by, noticed that
the paper read, "and agrees to lease his
farm, situate in - township, county OF
Butler, state Of Pennsylvania, consisting