Jack A. Schley v. A. M. Couch

July 7, 1952 petitioner was the owner of a tract of land near Hamilton, Texas, upon which was situated a dwelling house with an attached garage and storeroom. The petitioner had acquired these premises from a Mr. Adams about June 15, 1952. At the time petitioner moved upon the premises there was a concrete floor covering only the front half of the garage, and the remaining half was a dirt floor. A few days prior to July 7, 1952, petitioner employed a Mr. Tomlinson and his crew of workmen -- among whom was the respondent -- to put a concrete floor in the rear half of the garage. Petitioners son was removing the soil from that portion of the garage floor which was being covered with concrete with a tractor having a blade attached thereto. The garage faced east and the dwelling was immediately south of and adjoining the garage. The storeroom was immediately west of and adjoined the garage, and to enter the storeroom one had to come through the garage. Due to the construction of the tractor and the wall of the garage it was impossible to remove the soil adjacent to the west wall (and being the east wall of the storeroom) with the blade attached to the tractor. Respondents employer directed respondent to take a pick and loosen up this hardpacked soil which the blade could not reach. While digging in this soil, respondents pick struck a hard object and respondent found the $1,000 sued for buried in the ground. The money was in currency. Included in this currency were two Hawaiian bills issued during World War II. All bills were fresh, and well preserved and of the size of present currency. A glass jar top and some glass from a jar were found nearby and evidencing that the money had been buried in a glass jar. The erection of the garage had been begun by a Mr. Allen, a predecessor in title, who had sold the property in April or May of 1948 at which time the garage was in the process of being built but had not been completed. Only one of the prior owners of this land asserted that he had buried the money in