Los Angeles herald., 1907-04-21

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spots. He looked at the sky. A moment before
It had been lit with stars; now they we're all white
magnolia blossoms filling the wind with scented
whisper of Yes. yes, yes"
They took their honeymoon in New York at the
Waldorf-Astoria. There something appalling
ly blissful about the bills. When Alice afraid
TO buy something gorgeous, Seth would say:
Listen. honey can you hear the guggle glug-
gle-gluggle?-t the oil coming out Of the
ground-every four gluggles means dollar
They decided to run across to Europe Seth
said that HIS right hand man. Tom Domlnick, would
take OF everything. He bought stateroom
on steamer sailing the next day Just as they
were leaving their suite at the hotel page brought
Seth n telegram:
THE oil has quit gushing; got to get air
compressors.
Tom"
'T ought to be on the spot" groaned Seth
Would II break your heart dearie to give up the
Europe idea for while? Or could you take your
mother and let me come later when CAM"
said Alice.
week later the newspaper at Batson's Prairie
announced in its society column:
THE popular o-Droducer. Mr. Seth Radford
and his charming bride. nee Miss Alice Payton. OF
Galveston, have returned from New York and will
make their so1ourn among our elite. Welcome to
Batsons' Prairie Sethi"
Now, gushers are free and vivacous Pumping
machinery costs money and brings less oil The
pumps worked harder and harder but the flow
grew Observation-Disclosures: and the price of oil
went down-down-down The spirits of the Rad
fords followed the price.
IT don't exactly admiah the oil business said
Alice.
Gradually Batsons' Prairie lost prestige. Seth
bought more ground and dug more wells. Some
times he struck pocket OF oil that only fattery
could call gusher. He was glad If II managed to
paw its own cost before It petered out. Sometimes
after weary work and the encountering of good
omen after good omen till hope grew frantic there
came a time when It was plainly useless to drill
further-and several thousands of dollars had
gone. with nothing to show but empty hole
twelve hundred feet deep
Aliae "'I0''
You are good luck enough Just by yourself -
Seth would answer. with all the cheer he could
muster.
After year they were nearly bankrupt and the
majority of people had left Batsons' Prairie, some
with full nurses some with fiat In time Seth
realized that there was nothing to do but shut down
the lazy wells paint the machinery to prevent rust
and wait for a new field.
waiting is hard work. and Seth had been school
ed to excitement. Then for while there came
enough of that. Two lives we're in danger; one
dearer than his life, that was to be dearer
Fortune favored them with a smile. and accord
Ing to the newspapers, Mother and child were do
ing as well could be expected" Child"
weighed ten pounds and yelled like Piute: and
thev named him after his daddy.
The amateur father and mother used to sit talk
Ing OF the prospects of their youngster. There was
little else to do.
"The bov ought to have bank" said Seth
They felt that thev could hardly begin it with
less than hundred dollars They used to sit and
figure out how much that would amount to at COM
pound interest by the time the child was old enough
to vote Alice made 1t something like three mill
ion dollars br Seth said she Careless with her
noughts" Still. even as corrected the sum was
very handsome, and they thought of 1t whenever
they dropped dime a nickel into the little tin
bank. It pleasanter thing to think of than
the sum in their own bank for that dwindled daily
Often, when Seth was famished for a cigar. he
pushed the money through the little tin SLOT and
smoked the aromatic weed of hope
But the baby was not MANY months old when the
oil field at Humble broke out Seth rushed to the
scene and snent almost his lest cent in land He
established Mrs. and Master Radford at hotel in
ooH iNf1
took the early morning train every dav to Humble
and returned at night dirty. disheveed and tired
then washed nm, dressed up and marched into the
dinne-room like gentlemen and gllded youth
with their handsome wives.
Five big wells came in while Seth was drilling
The sixth was his. and gusher. He put a large
bill in the baby's bank
In three davs the well flowed hot salt water No
power could save it. Tt was like finding roll Of
that they are all counterfeit Seths next well es.
capped end flowed proner oil enough to put him in
funds for while The third began rs million
aire-meker and then dissolved into tears
Saline injection will save dying mans life"
said Seth. but it's sure death to an oil man"
The year had reached its "embers" Christmas
was nearing Seth had hoped to spend II in the
North. and he had told Alice a lot about sleigh
ridlns. She had never seen even sled
Bur their plans now mainly conversation
for - was growing hard even to borroy money
Some distant relatives of seths who ha.i heard OF
MIN When ne was at the Waldorf red'scovared his
existence and invited him and his family to house
rartv 1t meant three. besides railroad fare. Seth
declined gumly.
I'VE shall have each other. honey" smiled
Alice
But we shan't have snow" groaned the North
erner' I'm sick of roses, They don't belong on
the porch at Christmas want a white Christmas
ia give million dollars to hear sleigh bells"
The next we'll was plainly to be his last He gave
M Humble and went to new field at SIoper's
X-Roads, where salt water had not broken in TO
corrupt the few wells that had been found He
exhausted every resource for funds The bankers
when he called. regretfuy referred him to a little
stack notes unDaid Of
near gone as himself He wheedled out Of them
small sum after small sum. He began to pawn hut
soon ran out OF pawnabes He owed his crew two
weeks wages, and II was increasingly embarrassing
for him to go near the derrick. especially as the
drill had struck stratum of hard gypsum Some
times they could only make two or three inches a
day The sowness Of the work got on the nerves
OF the men, It made them thirsty, and It made
tnem surly to have to borrow the price of a drink