Is a wink a deception for which the winker must answer in the law? A hardened dealer once went near a large meeting of men with a wagon load of bottles containing cold tea. The thirsty crowd soon came around. "One dollar a piece," he announced with a wink. The wink was effective and the bottles were quickly sold. They were filled with cold tea, and the buyers sued for the deceit that had been practiced on them. They failed, the court said that a wink was not enough. Another court might have decided otherwise.
=Deeds.=--In selling and buying land several deeds are in use. The forms differ considerably in the different states. The most important of them is called a warranty deed, in which the seller not only conveys the title, but warrants or agrees to defend it against all attacks. Suppose A sells a piece of land by warranty deed to B, who makes the unwelcome discovery that a mortgage is existing thereon. He notifies A and asks him to clear the title. Suppose the mortgage has been paid, but the lender of the money, the mortgagee, forgot to give the proper deed to show that he had received payment. And suppose he was an ugly fellow who would not give the proper release. B could compel him to do so, and the expense must be borne by A because his deed of warranty required him to give a clear title.
In such a deed the grantor or seller agrees or covenants to do usually four or more specific things: first, he asserts that he has a right to convey the land at the time of the sale. Of course, if he has not, the agreement or covenant is at once broken and the buyer can proceed against him to make the title good, or to recover damages if he cannot retain the premises. The second covenant or agreement is to the effect that the seller has both the quantity and quality of land mentioned in the deed. The third covenant is that there are no encumbrances on the land, that is, no mortgages, no rights of others to pass over it, or to take earth, water or other things from the land. The fourth covenant is for the quiet enjoyment of the land, which is the most general form of warranty. There may be other covenants, often there are, while the four mentioned may be, and often are, modified.