Roxy Hastings — page 29: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

20 ROXY HASTINGS. where off in the direction of Lee’s land—and he only told the story as he had heard it repeated by sojourners at his house. : But when, on the next day, Lee succeeded, after very diligent search, in finding his own land, he learned to his surprise that it adjoined that of the Binghams; that the same creek flowed through it, and that a couple of sharp- nosed speculators were even then exploring it with crows and pickaxes, digging and delving here and there, smelling the earth and examining the surface of the stream for indi- cations of oil. He found these men upon the land, and with much sim- plicity, at once proclaimed himself as its owner, and dis- closed his wish to sell. “Do you find any signs of coal oil?” he asked, for that was the name by which the precious liquid was then known. The men exchanged glances, and the elder, a stoutish, smooth-faced man, with an irrepressible twinkle of his sharp black eyes, replied : ‘* Not a sign. We’ve tried it in twenty places, and should have been after you pell-mell if we had. No, I guess the Binghams have got the only spring there is hereabout, though there’s said to be two or three more a dozen or fourteen miles south of here. We'll go there to-morrow, Sligh, hay ?” “Yes, we’ll go and see. But I don’t think myself that ile land is worth much if we should find it. You see, it’ll cost all it’s worth to git it out and barrel it and git it to market. Don’t you see ?” “Yes, it’s very doubtful, I know. I wouldn’t pay much more for the land with the oil than without it. But I want a good tract of timber land somewhere hereabout, if I can get it cheap—very cheap.” ae Wouldn’t this suit you?) How much will you give for is?” | ‘“‘N-no, I think not; still I would buy it cheap—a couple of dollars an acre or so.” A couple of dollars an acre! Why, here was an offer of four hundred dollars for what only yesterday he would gladly have sold at quarter of that sum. His delight rendered him for a moment almost speech- less, and he was about closing with the offer, when, on looking up, his eyes met those of Mr. Sligh, a tall, gaunt, stooping fellow, who stood a few steps behind his comrade, and had seemed very intent on whittling a stick. | Sligh’s look, although only a glance, was such an eager comicbooks.co