Then they set about buying it all in, cheap--through dummies.

Double-crossed the farmers, see?
Friend of mine took a chance; put down a well on his own.

The usual thing happened; they broke him.
It took a lot of doing, but they broke him.

One little trick they did was to cock a bit and drop it in the hole.

That prank cost him sixteen thousand dollars before he could 'side track' the tool.