"I confess that I felt pretty bad. A number of the company knew of the will Spell had made, and two of them were witnesses to the crude document he had drawn up. As a consequence, Spell's personal effects were turned over to me. They included a small amount of money, a ring, a wrist watch, and a number of papers, including an order for a box in a safe deposit vault in a bank in Wichita Falls, Texas." "Poor fellow, it's too bad he couldn't have lived to enjoy himself now the war is at an end," remarked Mrs. Sam Rover. "Were any of his papers of value?" questioned Jack curiously. "That remains to be found out, Jack. His papers spoke of a valuable tract of oil land in Texas close to the boundary line between that State and Oklahoma." "Oil lands!" exclaimed Randy. "Why, they may be worth a fortune, Uncle Dick! They are making immense strikes in oil down in that territory." "I know that, Randy. Some of the wells are worth a fortune. But, on the other hand, you must remember that many of the tracts that are supposed to have oil on them have so far proved to be utterly dry. Men spend ten to forty thousand dollars in sinking a well only to find in the end that they have had their labor for their pains." "Did Lorimer Spell say that his land had oil on it?" questioned Fred. "From the way his papers and letters read one would think so, Fred. But, as I said before, Spell was a very queer kind of man. In fact, some of the fellows in our company thought he was a little bit out of his mind at times. It is just possible that he only imagined that he possessed valuable oil land." "But you are going to investigate, aren't you, and make sure?" questioned Jack. "Certainly, Son. I intend to go to Texas and make an investigation just as soon as I am mustered out of the service." "Oh, Dad! do you mean that you might go to Texas this Summer?" "I will if they muster me out." "If you go, won't you take me along?" "I'll think about it," and Dick Rover smiled at his son, whose face showed his eagerness. "Gee! I'd like to go to Texas myself," burst out Fred. "Such a trip would suit me down to the ground," announced Andy. "I've always wanted to see a big oil well in operation," added his twin. "I'd like to see them shoot an oil well," went on Jack. "They say it is a wonderful sight, especially if the well happens to be a real gusher." "The queerest part of it is this," went on Dick Rover. "Before the war came on I was more or less interested in the oil fields in Texas and Oklahoma, as well as in Kansas. A good oil well, or series of wells, is a splendid paying proposition in these days, and I'd like first rate to get possession of such a holding and then start a first-class oil company."