Part 48 (1/2)
”What have you got?” questioned Tate curiously
”You let those alone!” bellowed Davenport, his face turning pale ”Give them to me! They are my private property!” and he endeavored to snatch the documents from the other man's hand
”Not , who had served over a year in France ”These papers belong to Mr Richard Rover, and he is the one who is going to get theh to catch the words ”Why, that's my father!”
”I tell you I want those papers! They are mine!” screaet the was hit by the oil well promoter, who in return received a blow full in the mouth which loosened several of his teeth
”If those are my father's papers they must be the sa at a hotel here,” said Jack ”Several men entered one of our rooms and my father was knocked down from behind, and while he was unconscious theto the Lorimer Spell clai, who is stopping at O'Brian's Hotel, has theive them up to him just as soon as he can prove his property,” said the ex-soldier, as he placed the documents in an inside pocket
By this time two under-sheriffs had arrived on the scene, and they anting to know if their services were required Tate, Jackson, and one or two others, for purely personal reasons, were in favor of hushi+ng theor the Rover boys
”If he is the man who knocked my father down and robbed hiht to be arrested if he did anything like that,” acquiesced Dunning ”I'h with him! No more work for uess lad to take you on,” answered Jack quickly ”You know, my dad is an ex-serviceto the other boys
Carson Davenport blustered and tried to protest, and so did Tate and Jackson But it was all of no avail, and in the end the oil well promoter was marched off by the under-sheriffs to the local lockup Then Tate and Jackson hurried away, looking anything but pleased
”If he's exposed, he'll expose us too,” said Tate sourly
”Right you are, Jake,” answered Jackson ”Maybe we'd better clear out”
And they did, the next day They tried to get hold of so and others were on guard, so this little plan was frustrated
Of course dick Rover was astonished when the boys burst in on hi and proved to the satisfaction of that individual that the documents taken froh the ”third degree,” as it is called by the authorities, and finally broke down and admitted that he, Tate, and Jackson had committed the assault and theft, and that he had likewise tried to abscond with the re funds of his new oil company As a result of all this he was later sentenced to a term of years in prison About three ht, and also made to do time at hard labor
With Davenport, Tate and Jackson out of it, the ement of the new oil company fell upon Gabe Werner's father Mr Werner went ahead with the tells as planned by the others, and in thee a to the Martells and Browns But in the end these wells proved to be little better than dry holes, so all of the money was lost
”It's a terrible blow for all three families,” said dick Rover, when this occurred ”It will make Mr Werner quite a poor man”
”Well, I don't particularly wish theuess Nappy, Slugger and Gabe got as co the arrest of Davenport the first of the wells on the Franklin farm was shot off It proved to be an i away al toothpicks!” exclaiilvie says she will go six thousand barrels a day!”
”Just to think of it!” cried Jack, his eyes glea with pleasure ”Six thousand barrels! Isn't it wonderful? Six thousand barrels at two dollars and a half a barrel amounts to fifteen thousand dollars! Why, it's a fortune andout Andy, and, grabbing his brother, both set up a wild dance, knocking over the chairs as they did so
It was certainly a gala event, and the Rovers lost no ti the news to the folks in New York and also to a nu in the second well, and this proved al between four and five thousand barrels per day at first, and then settling down to fifteen hundred, while the first well for a long while never ran beloenty-five hundred
”They sure are a pair of peaches!” declared Dunning, who had coood as any in this district”