Part 9 (1/2)

”It might be so,” returned d.i.c.k, slowly. ”Both happenings are queer, to say the least.”

”I wish I knew what father has in mind to do,” came from Tom. ”I hope we take some kind of a trip. I don't want to stick on the farm all summer.”

With nothing to do, the next two days pa.s.sed slowly. The boys went fis.h.i.+ng and swimming, and they also did some shooting at a target which they set up behind the barn, and whiled away some time at boxing and in gymnastic exercises. d.i.c.k also spent an hour in penning a long letter to Dora Stanhope, who, as my old readers are well aware, was his dearest girl friend. Dora and her mother lived not far from Putnam Hall, and d.i.c.k and his brothers had become acquainted with her and her two cousins, Nellie and Grace Laning, when they had first gone to school. The Rover boys had on several occasions saved Mrs. Stanhope from serious trouble, and for this the widow was very grateful. She and her daughter had gone with them on the houseboat trip down the Ohio and the Mississippi, and Mrs. Laning and Nellie and Grace had likewise accompanied the party. It may be added here that Tom and Sam thought Nellie and Grace two of the nicest girls in the whole world, which indeed they were.

On Sat.u.r.day morning the boys were contemplating a bicycle ride when Sam, who chanced to look toward the road, set up a shout:

”Here comes father!”

All gazed in the direction and saw Mr. Rover coming toward them in a rig he had hired at the depot. They ran to meet their parent and were soon shaking him by the hand. They saw that he looked travel-worn and tired.

”I have been on the go ever since I left Putnam Hall,” said Anderson Rover. ”It was a most unexpected trip. I will tell you all about it as soon as I have rested a bit and had something to eat.”

”We have something to tell, too,” answered d.i.c.k. ”But that can keep until later.”

Inside of an hour Mr. Rover had been served with a good, hot breakfast and then he declared that he felt like a new man. He invited the whole family into the sitting room for a conference of importance.

”I told you lads I had something on my mind,” he said. ”I did not want to speak of it while at the graduation exercises at the school because there was too much going on. Now I am going to tell you everything and also tell you what I propose to do. But first I want to listen to what you have to tell me.”

It did not take the three boys long to relate the particulars of the pursuit of Cuffer and Sh.e.l.ley, and of what they had overheard at the old mill. Anderson Rover listened with close attention and did not seem surprised when they mentioned Sid Merrick's name.

”That fits in, to a certain degree, with what I have to tell you,” he said, when they had finished. ”It is a strange story, and the only way for me to do, so that it will be perfectly clear to you, is to tell it from the beginning.”

”Well, we're willing enough to listen,” said d.i.c.k, with a smile.

”We've been on pins and needles ever since you said you had something important to tell,” added Tom, grinning.

”Well, to start, this concerns Mrs. Stanhope more than it concerns ourselves,” began the father.

”What!” e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed d.i.c.k. He had not expected anything of this sort.

”I knew you would be surprised, d.i.c.k, and you'll be more surprised when I get through.”

”Are the Lanings in this?” questioned Sam, thinking of Grace.

”They are in a certain sense--or will be if everything turns out successfully. When Mr. Stanhope died he left most of his property to Mrs. Stanhope and Dora--the majority to Dora--but a small share was left to the Lanings, they being so closely related and such good friends.”

”But what is it all about?” asked Tom, impatiently.

”As I said before, I must start at the beginning, or perhaps you won't understand at all. As you know, Mr. Stanhope died some years ago. He was interested in various business enterprises, including a number of vessels which carried freight between the United States and the West Indies. One of his partners in the freight-carrying business was a man named Robertson and another was a Silas Merrick.”

”Merrick!” cried Sam.

”Yes, and this Silas Merrick was an older brother to Sid Merrick, the rascal who stole the bonds, and whom you heard mentioned by Cuffer and Sh.e.l.ley. Let me say here that Silas Merrick is dead, and when he died he left all his property to his brother Sidney and his sister. The sister is dead, too, and her property, so I understand, went to her son. Tad Sobber.”

”This is getting deep,” said Tom, his sunny face growing wrinkled.

”It will soon get deeper, Tom. During the time that the firm of Stanhope, Robertson & Merrick were carrying freight from the West Indies there was a fierce revolution in Central America. Some families of high rank were forced to flee, among them a n.o.bleman named Parmonelli, who left home carrying with him gold and diamonds worth many thousands of dollars. He managed to get on board one of the vessels owned by Mr. Stanhope's firm, and Mr. Stanhope was on the s.h.i.+p at the same time. The vessel was followed by revolutionists who were no better than pirates, and after a fierce fight the revolutionists shot Parmonelli and carried off his fortune.”

”This is certainly getting deep,” murmured Sam.