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"First-rate, first-rate!" said the old man; but when the Italian had bowed himself out and his guests had sunk into their seats again, he said dryly to Fulkerson, "I reckon they didn't have to torpedo that well, or the derrick wouldn't look quite so nice and clean."
That the main force could by any means fail them was a possibility over which for long neither Derrick nor his followers wasted a thought. Nevertheless half-an-hour of mad turmoil passed, and no help came. Derrick charitably set down its non-appearance to ignorance of his state and whereabouts, and he began at length to wonder within himself how the place was to be defended throughout the night.
"I'm glad," said Derrick; "but why should they want to ring the bells?" "Well, you see," explained Reggie, as he led them to the carriage, "Lord Heyton I mean the other man is not a great favourite; whereas, somehow or other, you have caught the popular imagination; besides, it has leaked out that you are going to marry Miss Grant; and she is tremendously popular.
Over this, grim and weird-looking in the moonlight, rose the framework of the derrick, formed of heavy timbers, and apparently solid enough to resist any pressure that might be brought to bear upon it. Near by were scattered pieces of machinery, tools and such debris as would naturally accumulate around a place of the kind.
Ours is going to be really a quiet wedding: bride and bridegroom; parson, pew-opener and perhaps two sniffling children. We are going straight to France; address uncertain. And we're going to live there that's one of the advantages of my profession, one of the precious few advantages; you can carry it on anywhere." "I'm glad," said Derrick, as he wrung Reggie's hand.
"How dare you question me call me to account! Please understand, sir, that I tolerate " "Oh, quit it!" cried a voice from the group. "You can't scare us, Derrick. That sort of talk was well enough once, but it don't go any more. We want a yes or no answer." It was gone that old-time power of mastery, that faculty of command. The ground crumbled beneath his feet.
Evidently Billy McCann with this in mind had twisted the injunction to "go straight home" into a chance to "cut across"; for surely this way would be the "straightest." Besides, there was the added inducement of close proximity to the wonderful new derrick that, since its instalment, had been occupying many of Billy's waking thoughts.
So the fortnight slipped by, and at length one afternoon we found ourselves once more in Southampton Water; then came the bustle of packing and the hurry of departure, and the merry party dispersed. Derrick and I saw them all off at the station, for, as his father's ship did not arrive till the following day, I made up my mind to stay on with him at Southampton.
Bob critically examined the cartridges, making many unfavorable comparisons between them and the ones he had been in the habit of making, and then began the work of fastening the reel to the derrick, as well as setting the upright in position, which served as a guide to the rope that was to lower the cartridges in position.
Seven years ago a company drilled for oil at Murraysville, about eighteen miles from Pittsburg. A depth of 1,320 feet had been reached when the drills were thrown high in the air, and the derrick broken to pieces and scattered around by a tremendous explosion of gas. The roar of escaping gas was heard in Munroville, five miles distant.
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