in his companion's
fertile brain. "Once they saw that thing, with Mr. Maurice standing near
the foot of the same, there'd be no trouble convincing a jury he was
guilty."

Jack lost no further time. He appeared quite anxious to close in before
the sun got too low in the heavens to allow a good strong picture. The
wind continued to favor them as before; and all doubt about the dog
being tied up was removed when once they had caught a glimpse of the
beast sitting disconsolately on his haunches in front of what appeared
to be a rude kennel made from the hollow butt of a big tree.

All the while they were thus creeping up they could hear the men calling
out to one another. Jack suspected from the excited tenor of their
conversation that some great crisis was drawing near. He watched them
working at the foot of the derrick, and soon had convictions concerning
the nature of their labor.

Unable to resist the temptation to learn whether his suspicions
regarding the presence of oil deep down in the earth were well founded
or not, and possibly urged on also by some speculator whom he had taken
into the secret, Dangerfield had finally consented to "shoot" the well,
and settle the question once for all.

Apparently a kind Fate had led Jack and Toby to the spot just when the
crisis was reached. They were likely to witness the operation and learn
the result, though uninvited, and unwelcome guests.

By degrees they managed to get close enough up to suit the purposes of
the intending photographer. If they ventured any further they ran a
great risk of being seen by one of the men, or else scented by the keen
nose of the dog. Already Jack could see from the actions of the beast
that his suspicions had been aroused. He no longer sat there as before,
watching the men, but walked up and down from side to side as far as his
tether would allow, sniffing the air in a significant manner, and
occasionally giving a doleful howl; at which one of the workers would
turn to make a threatening gesture, and call out angrily at him.

Undoubtedly every one of them must be worked up to a state of nervous
tension, and the actions of the dog irritated his owner.

From the way in which Jack now commenced to act Toby knew he was getting
ready to snap off a picture. He picked away the green leaves in front of
him so as to allow of a small round opening. Through this he expected to
sight his camera, and get the oil derrick in focus; after which a slight