Part 44 (1/2)
”I don't believe Gabe was in it at all!” cried Fred
”He was too He got us to go after you, exactly as I told you,”
protested Nappy
”But he wasn't there,” said Fred ”And it wasn't a boarding house either”
”I don't care He was there e left him to find you And he wanted to see all of you the worst way” Nappy turned to Slugger ”Isn't that right, Slug?”
”It certainly is He said he would wait there until we got back In fact, he said his leg hurt hio a step further, and he said he knew the old folks who lived there very well We didn't know anything more than what he told us”
”I don't believe a word of your story, Nappy I believe it's made up from end to end,” answered Jack ”You si into the hotel, and you carried those orders out to the best of your ability My opinion is you were in league with those men who robbed my father of his papers”
”I was not I don't knohat you're talking about!” roared Nappy, but his face grew pale as he spoke ”I didn't even know your father had been robbed Gabe Werner had been hurt We thought his leg had been broken, although we found out afterwards it was only hurt He wanted to see all of you--why, I don't know We siet for it”
”Nappy is telling things just as they were,” declared Slugger
”It's a fairy tale,” declared Andy ”If it was true, why did you and Nappy hide e caot there and found that Gabe was er
”Where is Werner now?”
”I don't know I think he has gone holib reply
”What are you fellows doing here?”
”We own an interest in this claiarette
”Own an interest here?” deot hth interest in the whole outfit, and Slugger's folks bought an equal a,” said Fred
”It cost our folks ten thousand dollars each,” answered Slugger, in a bragging tone ”But we'll get that back, and a good deal more, too,” he added
”Did Gabe Werner's folks put up anything?” questioned Randy
”Yes, they have an eighth interest, too,” answered Nappy ”Oh, this is going to be so concern, believe ets back those papers of which he was robbed?” questioned Jack pointedly
”Oh, say, Jack Rover, you needn't coer ”We know there isn't a word of truth in it Your father never had any such papers”
”He certainly did have them, and some day he may be able to prove it,”
answered Jack waro out to that storehouse he was knocked down in one of our rooms by two or three men and the papers were taken from him And what is more, I am pretty sure in my mind that the felloho took them were Davenport and his partners”