Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-10-16

distance from where he had started.
He was in agony lest Maria had beer
watched and captured entering the
trysting place. But. seeing her on her
pony riding about as though nothing
disturbed her, he took courage.
Manuel went back to work and, aft
er being cross examined as to where
he had been. took his punishment, and.
though 1t was more severe than usual,
he bore it without 6~inching, sustained.
as he was. by his secret
Fortunately for the lovers, their love
was not known. and they could COM
municate, though. Of course, always at
a great risk. Manuel contrived to let
Maria know that they must not try to
meet again for some time. Meanwhile
he determines not to go to the tryst-
ing place again In the day. But one
night when all were asleep. armed
with a spade. a lantern and some
matches, be stole out of the peon
quarters to revisit his find. Had he
not gone there often he would not have
been able to find the entrance, for he
dared not light his lantern until well
screened by the thicket.
On reaching the trysting place he
struck a match and. having found the
hole he had dug with his knife. began
to throw out the earth with his spade.
He had gone down but a few feet
when there stood on the bottom of the
hole he had dug several inches OF a
fluid. Lighting his lantern, he saw that
the oil was slowly rising. Dipping a
dry twig into it, he held 1t over the
fame In the lantern. and it burned
brightly.
This was enough. He reflled the
hole and smoothed the ground above
1t, then went back to his quarters.
The next day Manuel went to Con-
zales and offered him the $50 he had
borrowed, with interest The hacen-
dAdo accepted 1t, and Manuel went
forth a free man. Before leaving the
hacienda he made IN appointment to
meet Maria clandestinely, and when
they came together he told her that
there was a fortune at their trystng
place. The location was Wild land out
side Gonzales hacienda. Neverthe-
less Manuel had but $40, and this was
too little to tempt the owner to sell any
Of his property. Maria was accorded
liberal pin money by her father and
could produce 500. But she owned a
jewel which would bring a hundred
more. In all the two raised $500.
Then Manuel found the owner of the
land, and, representing that he wished
to erect a sawmill beside the stream.
which could be used for power. he sue
ceeded in buying twenty acres of
ground at $40 an acre.
AS soon as the deed had passed to
him Manuel threw up his hat joyfully.
He had 500 left with which to de-
velop bis oil well. He dug with his
spade a sluiceway by which he turn
ed a part of the stream into q new
channel that ran within q few yards
of his well. Then he made a mill
wheel and bought a pump with gear
ing. Lastly. he dug his oil well to a
depth of ten feet, at the bottom of
which stood several feet Of oil.
When Manuel set his machinery to
work to pump out the oil he was anx-
ious as to the flow continuing. He
pumped for some time. looking into the
well and was delighted to see that the
flow continued as fast as he pumped.
Then he knelt and thanked his patron
saint for the blessing that had been
bestowed upon him.
Manuel said nothing to any one about
his oil property. He bought a few
empty barrels and filed them with oil.
With his ak he cleared a way so that
a team could haul them away and with
the money be got for the oil bought
more barrels and very soon had money
enough to build a shed over his ma
chinery.
One day Gonzales, who was riding
yer his hacienda, saw a well dressed
man. also mounted, coming toward
him When the stranger neared him
Gonzales recognized his former peon.
Manuel Perez.
"What are you doing here, and in
those clothes?" asked the hacendado.
4 tdhhC " doh liz buuu Va }V0A
daughter"
"My daughterr'
Eyes, senior. have good blood In
my veins, and l am rich"
Erich? In what does your fortune
consist-assurancef"
"Ifs you will come with me I win
show 1t to you"
Moved by curiosity. Gonzales rode
with his former slave to the oil we'll
When he saw the crude machinery
and. Manuel having turned on the
power. a barrel of oil filed In a few
minutes, he was astonished- He did
not give Manuel his daughter. but he
prospected for oil not only on his ha-
cienda, but on contiguous property.
No other outlet for the petroleum
was found. and the failure greatly en-
HANGED the value Of Manuel Perez's
property, Americans, Englishmen. ev-