The Lehi sun. [volume] (Lehi, Utah) 1913-1949, 1922-09-21
CHAPTER Ix-contInusd.


Ill d,rg farther over. "Such q thing
"opens too inrely-"
Hls heart pounded violently; ex-
cement sent the blood rushing to his
a|.DIn in binding swlrls. He was
.,lpped by the gold fever that comes
non n man when he makes the as
Funding discovery OF untold wealth
Ming at his feet, passed over and dis
Regarded by other and less-discernlng
hen for days and yearsi
II II was oil, no question about II. An
Extremely slight quantity. true; 80
aliRht a quantity that there was no
Aim on the water, no discernlble taste
10 the water. Gramont brought II TO
his mouth and rose. shaking his head.
Where did It come fromf II had no
connection with the gas bubbles--at
s least. II did not come from the dome
OF water and gas. How long he stood
there staring Gramont did not know.
His brain was afire with the possIbllI-
a ties. At length he stirred into action
4 and started up the bayou bank, from
+ time to time halting to search the wa
ter below him. to make sure that he
could still discern the faint rides
4 cence.
He followed II rod by rod, and
\ found that II rapidly increased in
strength. II must come from some very
tiny surface seepage close Mt hand.
that was lost in the bayou almost as
rapidly as II came from the earth
depths. Only accidentally would a
man see it--not unless he were search
\ ing the water close to the bank. and
even then only by the grace Of chance.
Suddenly Gramont saw that he had
i lost the sign. He halted.
No, not lost. eitheri Just ahead OF
him was a patch Of reeds. and re-
cessIon Of the shore. He advanced
again. Inside the reeds he found the
oily smear, still so faint that he could
only detect II at certain angles. Glanc-
ing up, he could see q fence at q little
distance, evidently the boundary fence
OF the Ledanols land; the bushes and
trees thlnned out here. and on ahead
was cleared ground. He saw. through
the bushes. glImpses Of buildings
Violent disappointment seized him.
Was he to lose this discovery, after
alli Was he to find that the seepage
came from ground belonging to some
one else? No-lie stepped back hastily,
barely In time to avoid stumbling into
. a tiny trickle OF water. a rivulet that
ran down into the bayou. a tributary
so Insignificant that Il was invisible
ten feet distant And on the surface
faint irldescence.
Excitement rising anew within him
\ Gramont turned and followed this rlv'
ulet, his eyes afiame with eagerness
II led him for twenty feet. and ceased
abruptly, in bubbling spring thai
welled from a patch of low tree-in
closed land. Gramont felt his feet
sinking In grass, and saw that there
was a dip In the ground hereabOuts. Q
swampy little section all to itself. HI
picked n dry spot and lay down on hii
face. searching the water with hi
eyes.
Moment after moment he lay there
Ratching. Presently he found thu
slight trlckle Of oil agaln-a trickle 81
faint and slim that even here. on thu
surface OF the tiny rivulet. II could b
dlscerned only with great difficulty.
very thin seepage, concluded Ora
mont: a thin oil. Of course. SO fain
little thing. to mean so much
1t came from the Ledanols land. N
doubt OF It. What did that matter
thought His eyes wldened with fam
Ing thoughts as he gnzed down at tn
slender thread of water. No matte
mt all where this came frOm-th
main point was proven by II Their
was oil here for the finding. oil dow
In the thousands of feet below, oil s
thick and abundant that II forced II
self up through the earth assures I
find nm Outlet
INSTEAD of going down five or 81
thousand feet" he thought, exultant
~, I'VE may have to go down only a
many hundred. But first we must &c
m option or a lease on all the Ian
foundabout-all we can secure Their
will be a tremendous boom the mir
tte this news breaks. II we get thOs
options, we can sell them over agal
af a million per cent profit. anN eve
n we don't strike oil in paying quaint
ties. well regain the cost of our drill
fngl And to think Of the years thI
has been here, waiting for som
one"
Suddenly he started violently. A
abrupt crashing OF feet among IN
bushes, an outbreak OF voices, ha
eonnded not fur away-Just the othe
ode of the boundary fence. lie wa
.wnkened from his dreams. and starte
20 rise. Then he relaxed his muscle
and lay quiet. establishment seizin
him; for he heard his own name mel
toned In a voice that was strange
him.
CHAPTER X.