The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1913-05-09
THAT APRIL
@ HA
By NJ QUAD
Copyright. 49,. by Associated lit
PrA4a
b NJ QUAD.

old and was growing more dignifed.
every second that passed, when he IN
dertook a short railway journey. He
had his own pyivate a and the doors
were locked and the curtains drawn.
There came an accident by which the,
train was obligedto halt at the village
Of whitewater for several hours. Mr..
Masters got tired Of inaction and start
ed for a walk uptown. 1t was the first
day Of April, but he had forgotten the
date. In fact, as he was bigger than
the almanac there was no asO why
he should remember any particular
date.
You may have seen an April fool hat
posed on the sidewalk. There IL q big
stone under 1t. and It is a trap for the
unwary.
MI. Masters had never run across an
April. fool hat. He had never kicked q.
man or a dog or a football. He had al
ways kept his feet under him. Would
you have thought that old villsgeshat
would have appealed to him? Would
you have thought that after ttssty
years Of dignity he would have even
given it a second glance? Human ma.
ture is queer. 1t breaks away when
and where you least expect. 1t broke
in this case. MIR. Masters! advanced on
that April fool hat with almost q smile
on his face. and when be had approach
ed within a certain distance he drew
In his breath, swung his right leg and
sent it flying ten feet in the air. Only
he didn't. He didn't send it two inch
es, and If he had been a pirate his
swear words would have been heard a
mile away.
There were boys ready to cry ha, ha.
ha! and there were men ready to laugh
no, no. no! and Mr.. Masters limped
back to his car. boiling for revenge.
Whitewater was a solid. thriving lit
tie town. They had no Blooms there.
Its people were conservative and no
one had ever invested a dollar in Wall
street. OF a sudden a stranger appear
ed and called on q Mr.. Brown in a
business way. Mr.. Brown owned ten
acres of land on the western side of
the village. Its value was $S25 an acre,
but no one had offered any price for
1t. Mr.. Browns establishment can
therefore be imagined when the stran-
ger asked for an option on that land
Mt 500 per acre. He got 1t. He eau
toned Mr.. Brown to keep quiet. Then
he went to Il Mr.. Gill. Mr. Gill owned
two acres of land and an abandoned
coxrp3I1 ls,I,n 1,oI,,o u,oe not o,,or e1O0s&
but the stranger got an option at a
thousand. Mr.. Gill was cautioned to
keep quiet.
Then the stranger got a option on
the ten acres on the hill and on two
stores. the tannery. the sash factory
and~eight or ten other places. In each
instance he offered a price and that
price was at least three times what the
property was worth.
What did it all mean? What was
going to happen? 1t vas no use to
talk to the stranger. No information
could be got from him except that he
wanted more options. Some said It was
coal; some said petroleum; ONE from
or copper or lead. It was even report.
ed and believed that there was a. dia-
mond mine under theavillage.
There followed just what might have
been expected and just what the
stranger did expect. BY the time he
had secured options to the number Of
twenty Whitewater wassseized with 9
fever. The price Of real estate began
jumping. A house aAdglot worth $1,000.
one day were held at $1,000 or more the
next. There was d gravel ridge RIM
ming along the main street. The ideas
was that diamonds were to be foundsfn;
this gravel. There was a creek just
south fOf the town. it was contendeds
that the hidden petroleum would be
found there. Under the land on the
hill was supposed to be a great reser-I
voir of natural gas,
For two weeks there was no business.
but buying and selling. The congrega-
tions at the churches of a Sunday hard.
" numbered n score. There was hard
" a piece OF property in and around.
the town that didn't change hands at
least three times. In aXquiet way the
stranger sold most %, his options at:
double figures. One morning White
water woke up to ask; what 1T wds all
about. The stranger Ind disappeAreds
OF a sudden no h wanted to buy.
Before noon there Was a rush to SELL
Inside ofstwenty-four hours the $1,000
properties were being offered for $3.50.
IItSis alwaysSso In the reaction. When.
1.-THE. settled dDWnra BIT IL SfOunds