Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1898-12-10

inches oil the smell out OF his nose,
and was preparing to light match
and look at it, when the thought oil
his identity came over him. He
recognized the odor 10 an instant,
and was sure that be woald know
that stencil if he met it in Deal
Smith county, Texas.
It was natural gas; of that he was
certain
There are odors both pacific and
pugnacious, but the wise man was
sure that natural gas was the only
one that habitually went about with
a chip on its shoulder as a standing
menace and an open decl ration that
it hungered and thirs ed to have
somebody tread Oh the tail Of its
wearing apparel.
The mystery of the digging was
mystery no longer to Prof. Mel
lick. The prowler had, in some
manner, discovered the gas we'll, and
had sought to conceal it till he could
purchase the land, after which it was
doubtless his intention TO make his
discovery public.
The coming of the morning found
the wise man still there. The spot
from which the gas came proved to
have boen an oil-well, which for
some cause, the digger of the prev
ious night had filled up. The pipe
of an old, half-decayed pump was
still in position and came up even
with the surfece of the ground.
Through this, the gas sought an out.
let. The clod that Prof. Mellick
had displaced in his paving about
had been over the open top of this
pipe.
Though it has been limited by
some that Prof. Mellick, although
extremely learned, is not the pos
SCISSOR of sufficient common sense to
more than enable him to keep out oil
the fire, wien it comes to fat footed
soheming he is anything but a
SLOUGH. Instead Of rushing around
the neighborhood with sign on his
back disseminating the information
that he found gas we'll, which the
loser could have by calling on the
subscriber, Prof: Mellick HE'D him
self to his friend, Puckersmith.
Matters were soon arranged in
such a manner that Mellick and
Puckersmith shared alike in the gas
we'll, the latter deciding the scientist
half Of the property as reward for
making the discovery.
The next idea vas to sell off a
considerable number of shares in the
find. Puckersmith was for calling
the people together, igniting the we'll
and selling the shares off by auction.
But here Prof. Mellick proved
himself remarkably wide between the
eyes.
SIT would be fatal 10 our pros
pects," said he. "Ignite the gas,
and, in The space Of two. days, there
would be iucipient gas-wells on
nearly every farm in the county.
Some Of them would tap the vein
from which comes our gas, and our
supply would be cut off, and, in the
language of Plato, now deceased,
our names would be Dennls.'
The subsequent actions OF Messrs.
Mellick and Puckersmith were
shrouded in mystery. Day and
night, one or the other Of the part
ners kept watch and ward over the
gas-well, lest some william should
come along, pull it up by the roots
and carry it off.
And, at almost any time OF the
day or night, the other partner
might have been seen button-holing
some neighbor, the possessor of
capital.
u was not long till they had dis
posed of nearly all of the number of
shares they intended to sell. There
was only one more man whom they
desired TO get into the company, and
this was aeighbor Ksjones, who had
gone away upon the morning follow.
ing the discovery of the gas-well
and had not yet returned.
Feeling certain that they would
be able to secure his cooperation,
they resolved to go on without
waiting for his return and have the
celebration that they had planned.
Just at sunset, the stockholders and
number OF invited guests gathered
about the gas-well in Puckersmith's
back pasture.
While awaiting the coming dark.
ness, when the gas would be ignited,
they congratulated each other,
smelled the gas that came from the
top of the old. pump-pipe, and then
picked themselves up from where
the odor had knocked them. Then
they proceeded to draw up long
resolution to the effect that triple ex-
tract Of skunk was prolonged pic
mic compared to natural gas.
Then Prof. Meilick INDUCED in a
long dissertation on gas, its symp
toms, cause and cure, or something
of the kind, and, by the time be
ceased, darkness had deepened suf-