chanting of a Hymn of
Hate! He considered himself the captain of his soul, and the antics of
a malicious enemy, the wild waving of false danger signals, instead of
distracting a resolute mariner, would merely cause him to steer a truer
course.

But Nelson was a brooder. Time came when doubts distressed him, when he
began to put faith in "malicious animal magnetism" and, despite his
better sense, to wonder if some evil spell really had not been put upon
him.

In his arrogance it had seemed at first a simple matter to do away with
Gray. That had been mistake number one. The miserable breakdown of that
plan, the refusal of his hireling to go forward, and the impossibility
of securing a trustworthy substitute convinced him finally that he had
erred grievously in his method. Some men are invulnerable to open
attack, and Gray, it seemed, had been wet in the waters of the Styx.
No, that had been a bad beginning and Nelson regretted it, for he
feared it had served as a warning.

So, indeed, it appeared, for not long thereafter he actually felt, or
thought he felt, the vengeful claws of his enemy. A new strike in one
of the western counties had become public, and a brand-new oil
excitement was born overnight. Trains were crowded, roads were jammed
with racing automobiles; in the neighborhood of the new well ensued
scenes to duplicate those of other pools. For the first week or two
there was a frenzy of buying and selling, a speculation in oil acreage
and town lots.

The Nelsons, of course, were early on the ground, for in spite of the
father's contention that they could ill afford, at the moment, to tie
up more money in unproductive properties, the son had argued that they
must have "protection," and his arguments had prevailed.

Henry went in person, and he was disagreeably surprised to discover
Gray on the ground ahead of him. The latter bore evidences of hard
usage in the shape of a black eye and numerous bandages, reputed to be
the result of an automobile collision. Henry regretted that his enemy's
injuries were so trivial. It was indeed a pity that so few accidents
are fatal.

He bought rapidly, right and left, as much to forestall Gray as
anything else, and he was back at the bank shortly with a number of
leases. Not until some time later did he learn that he had paid a price
for them twice as high as that charged for properties closer in.

It was Bell who brought this unwelcome information home to him--brought