ch a disturbed mental condition that he went about
his work in a dazed sort of way, until his wife insisted on his sitting
on the wood-pile, where if he did no good he could at least do no harm,
while she did the chores for him.

On hearing Bob say, for at least the tenth time since he returned from
town, that everything was all right at the well, the old man did "pull
himself together" sufficiently to do the milking, and then no sooner had
he performed that task than he forgot what he had done, and tried to do
the whole work over again, remembering his previous accomplishment only
when one of the cows kicked the empty pail over, and very nearly served
him in the same way.

Jim and Dick were not as anxious regarding the yield of the well;
therefore, they were in a state of excitement only because they were to
be at what would be very nearly their old moonlighting tricks again, and
were simply impatient for the time to come when they could be at work.

They spent their time sitting on a rather sharp rail of the fence,
bemoaning Bob's obstinacy in not having the well shot in regular
moonlighter's fashion, without being so weak-kneed as to buy the right
to do simply what no one ought to be allowed to prevent him from doing.

Ralph and George were inwardly as excited as any one else, but outwardly
very much more calm. They sat in the latter's room, talking over the
prospects of striking a goodly quantity of oil, while, despite all they
could do, the conversation would come around to what the result would be
in case "The Harnett" proved to be a dry well. They knew that all the
bills had been contracted in their names, since they were the sole
owners at the time the work was commenced, and in case of a failure,
they would find themselves burdened with such a load of debt that it
would take them a very long time to clear it off.

Even at that late hour they regretted that Bob had commenced to sink the
well, and it is extremely probable that if it had been possible to undo
all that had been done, leaving the land exactly as it was before the
signs of oil were discovered, they would gladly have agreed to forego
all their dream of wealth.

Whether Mrs. Harnett and Mrs. Simpson also suffered from suspense that
evening it is hard to say; but certain it is that they were more silent
than usual, and the former sewed remarkably fast, while the latter's
knitting-needles clicked with unusual force.

It was a trying time for all i