He stood up and looked at the big picture. To the north: three million dollars’ worth of drilled but uncompleted wells. To the south: a pipeline easement expiring in seventy-two hours. And here, under his boots, one dead pioneer child who had no lawyer, no lobbyist, and no voice.
“Shift the whole layout twenty yards west. You’ll lose a day, maybe two. Tell the office the ground was unstable.” Landman
“But the mineral rights—the lease terms—” He stood up and looked at the big picture