"poorhouse
nobody," and how he had had to fight his way through until his identity
had been established.

"Anyway, Dave, this gives you a chance to be on your guard," went on
Roger. "If I were you I'd keep my eyes wide open for Link Merwell."

"I certainly shall, Roger. And if I can lay my hands on him I won't be
as considerate as I was on Cave Island," was the answer. "I'll hold him
until I can turn him over to the authorities. He ought to be keeping
company with Jasniff in jail."

The girls were chattering among themselves over the letters they had
received, and Shadow and Luke soon joined in. As was to be expected,
the former story-teller of Oak Hall had his usual anecdote to relate, to
which the others listened with interest. Phil had drawn apart from the
crowd, and was now reading the letter he had received a second time. His
face indicated unusual concern.

"Well, I hope you got good news, Phil," remarked Dave, as the
shipowner's son came towards him and Roger.

"No, it's just the opposite," was the somewhat doleful reply.

"What? Do you mean it's bad news?" broke in Roger, quickly.

"It certainly is! Instead of losing twenty to thirty thousand dollars,
my dad stands to lose about fifty thousand dollars on that land deal I
mentioned to you some time ago."

"Why, how is that?" queried our hero, curiously. "Has the land gone up
in value since then?"

"I don't know about the value of the land itself, but it's this way:
Since that railroad made a bid for the acreage, another railroad has
come into the field. They are going to run a rival line through that
territory, and so they bid against the L. A. & H. Then the L. A. & H.
railroad increased their bid, and the other folks did the same, so that
now, if my father could give a clear deed to the land, he could sell it
for about fifty thousand dollars."

"And hasn't he been able to get any trace of your Uncle Lester?"

"He has something of a clue, but so far he has been unable to locate my
uncle. It certainly is a strange state of affairs."

"Won't the railroad company take the land without your uncle being
represented in the deed?" questioned Roger.

"I don't think so. If they were willing to do that my father would put
the deal through without delay. It certainly is too bad!" added Phil,
with a sigh.

"It seems to me if I were you I'd get on the trail of your Uncle Lester
somehow," was Roger's comment. "I wouldn't let that fifty thousand
dollars get a