Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1922-01-12
~ told him l thought i could do Il

=
but didn't give my plum away. IN
stead, I made him proposition; Of
fered to undertake the drainage JOD
ut my own costs. Ii l should succeed.
he was to deed me u fourth interest IN
the property. If didn't succeed, n
was to cost him nothing-sort Of
contingent fee, as lawyer would say.
i laughed. ''You made an offer Ike
( that to q stranger? and on mine that
you had never seen?'
He grinned good-naturedly and got
back ut me, quick.
81 "All business is a taking of chances.
AS the matter stood at that stage OF
the game. ] had everything to gain and
nothing to lose, and the only chance
was taking :,as in the bet on my own
ability us an engineer. The old man
was queer old codger in some re-
Spects; us secretive and cautious as
an old fox. For example: he had care
fully clipped the name of the mine
from the blue-prints and other papers,
and in all our talk he never once LET
that name slip. and never even men,
toned the name of the district In
which the hline was located. But In
\ spite of all this caution he drew up a
sort of option agreement with ME.
i"We found lawyer and had the
agreement drawn up in legal form.
The time limit was to he a year. and
each of us was to put up thousand
dollars to make the agreement bind
ing. If either of us should wish to
withdraw within that time. he was at
liberty to do so by FORGETTING his ante
of a thousand dollars to the other. II
neither Of us withdrew by or before
the end Of the year. I was to be at lib
erty to go ahead with my drainage
project, and the agreement bound the
owner to turn over 0ne-fourth inter-
est In the property to me upon the
completion Of the Job and the unwater-
ing Of the mine.
"At the moment was under engage
ment to go to Peru for Chicago syn
dictate. and expected to be out of the
United States for at least six months.
and maybe longer. AS 1t turned out.
the South American job was lot big
ger than l had anticipated. and for
that reason the time limit of year
expired week ago. on the day that
landed in New York. Yesterday I
called upon the Omaha banker. and he
gave me the cheering information that
my old man was dead-had died just
"a few days earlier"
"Stfll, ] don't see how you have lost
out" put in.
"NVait; here comes the funny part
Of it. MIR. Banker tells me solemnly
that I am remembered in my old gen.
tleman's disposition Of some cash lega-
cies made just before his death, and
I'm to have the thousand dollars which
he put up as forfeit. took the prize
down and spent some Of 1t within the
next few minutes wiring the old mans
home lawyer, whose name and address
the banker had given me. l briefed
the situation for the lawyer, said was
ready to fulfil my part Of the con-
tract, and asked him to wire ME the
name and location OF the mine. You'd
never guess in q thousand years the
kind Of an answer / got"
shook my head.
No; probably not. What was it,"
1T was bolt from the blue, all
right. Mr.. Home Lawyer wired that
his client had never owned share Of
mining stock in his life, that there was
nothing in his papers or records bear
ing upon the subject of my telegram,
and that must be either drunk or
crazy. OF course, he didn't put it Just
that way in his reply, but that is what
he meant"
How do you sort 1t out?" inquired.
'eThe lawyers telegram? put it up
that my cautious. secretive old gentle.
man never told anybody at home about
his mining investments; kept them in
a separate pocket, so to speak. Quite
possibly he didn't have any other ex.
ceptfng the one I've been telling you
about, and the one he regarded as a
dead cock In the pit. That would ex-
plain the situation nicely, don't Won
think r VI. (, , 3:
The story had left me a bit logged
as to the present state and standing
Of the thing, and I said so.
well, 1t stacks up about this way."
said Br0wn.beard. There Is a per-
fectly good mine somewhere west Of
us that Is worth anywhere from 4
quarter to. half million, and at the
present moment 1t Is kicking around