"I--I can't live--I know it," he said hoarsely. "Joe, stay by me till I
die, won't you?"

"Yes!" faltered the boy. "Oh, this is awful!"

"I'm sorry to leave you so soon, Joe--I--I thought I'd be--be able to do
something for you some day."

"You have done something for me, Uncle Hiram."

"All I've got goes to you, Joe. Doctor, do you hear that?"

"I do."

"It--it ain't much, but it's something. The blue box--I put it in the
blue box--" Here the sufferer began to cough.

"The blue box?" came from Joe questioningly.

"Yes, Joe, all in the blue box--the papers and the money--And the blue
box is--is--" Again the sufferer began to cough. "I--I want water!" he
gasped.

The water was brought and he took a gulp. Then he tried to speak again,
but the effort was in vain. The doctor and Joe raised him up.

"Uncle Hiram! Speak to me!" cried the boy.

But Hiram Bodley was past speaking. He had passed to the Great Beyond.

CHAPTER IV.

THE SEARCH FOR THE BLUE BOX.

Three days after his tragic death Hiram Bodley was buried. Although he
was fairly well known in the lake region only a handful of people came
to his funeral. Joe was the chief mourner, and it can honestly be
said that he was much downcast when he followed the hermit to his last
resting place.

After the funeral several asked Joe what he intended to do. He could not
answer the question.

"Have you found that blue box?" questioned Doctor Gardner.

"No, sir, I have not thought of it."

"Probably it contains money and papers of value, Joe."

"I am going to look for it to-day," said the boy. "I--I couldn't look
for it while--while--"

"I understand. Well, I trust you locate the box and that it contains all
you hope for," added the physician.

As luck would have it, Ned Talmadge's family had just gone away on a
trip to the West, so Mr. Talmadge could offer the boy no assistance. But
Ned was on hand and did what he could.

"You don't know what you'll do next, do you, Joe?" asked Ned, as he and
Joe returned to the wreck of the cabin.

"No."

"Well, if you haven't any money I'll do what I can for you."

"Thank you, Ned; you are very kind."

"It must be hard to be thrown out on the world in this fashion," went on
the rich boy, sympathetically.

"It is hard. After all, I thought a good deal of Uncle Hiram. He was
strange in his ways, but he had a good heart."

"Wasn't he shot in the head once by accident in the woods?"

"Yes."

"Mayb