Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

“ On the instructions given we have no doubt that the jury understood the true conditions of the plaintiff's case. They were told in terms that if the plaintiff was to recover they must find that the plaintiff did his work and found a purchaser, relying on the defendant's representations, if he made them, and that the purchase failed because they were inaccurate and the railroad had not agreed to build. ”

“ So, again, it might be found that Dotson was willing to take his chances as to the specification of the 10,000 acres in the larger tract at the defendant's command. The option that satisfied him and his purchasers was enough, if accepted, to entitle the plaintiff to his pay. The jury was warranted in finding that the plaintiff was employed at the rate named to make a bargain for land to be identified later, and subject to requirement of the purchaser that the railroads or one of them would agree to build a road into the land. ”

“ In another letter, of July 8, he said: 'After we completed arrangements with the R. R. company for the development of the property, we advanced price to $20 per acre.' On July 24 an option on '10,000 acres of land in Harlan county, Kentucky,' at $20 per acre for sixty days, was given to Easter in consideration of his forthwith sending an engineer to examine and report on the same, and on August 25 Milliken wrote to Dotson that Easter's party had decided to take the 10,000 acres on condition that Mr. Spencer would assure them as to the building of the railroad to Harlan Court House ”