Kilbride

This is an action to recover fifteen hundred dollars under the following circumstances:

The “California Lustral Company” was a corporation, duly organized under the laws of the state of California. Defendant Franklin Moss was a large stockholder therein, a director and vice-president of the company, and, with another, held a mortgage upon the property of the company.

The corporation was indebted to sundry creditors, some of whom were pressing payment.

Plaintiff had fifteen hundred dollars, and defendant Moss proposed to him to purchase therewith six thousand shares of the capital stock of the corporation, and at first offered to secure him therefor by a second mortgage on the corporate property. This offer was declined.

Thereupon it was verbally agreed between plaintiff and defendant that the plaintiff should purchase the six thousand shares of stock, pay fifteen hundred dollars therefor to the company, and, in the event that the stock became worthless or of no value, he, the said defendant, would return and pay to plaintiff the said sum of fifteen hundred dollars.

This was on the 25th of May, 1891. Plaintiff pur *434 chased the stock, paid therefor the fifteen hundred…