Read "Tom Swift and His Great Oil Gusher" by Victor Appleton online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
EVERY MAN stood tense, eyes riveted on the valve.
Attached to the lower part of the capping mechanism was a pressure gauge. As the valve closed, the needle of the gauge began creeping steadily around the dial. When the valve was completely closed, the pressure mounted steadily. Five hundred-six-seven hundred pounds to the square inch, and still the needle moved around the dial. When it finally came to rest, it indicated a confined or "rock" pressure in the well of nine hundred and fifty pounds per square inch!