plot against me."

"Dave, you look rather worried," remarked Phil, as he caught the youth
reading the communication for the third time. "No bad news I hope?"

"I can't tell whether it is or not, Phil," was the reply. And Dave
handed the letter to his chum.

"Phew! This looks like a mystery," was the comment of the shipowner's
son. "Dave, do you think this had anything to do with what Link Merwell
said when we caught him--that you were not Dave Porter?"

"That's the way it looks to me, Phil."

"But that's rank nonsense. We all know you are Dave Porter."

"Well, I've always thought I was Dave Porter, ever since I met my Uncle
Dunston out in those South Sea Islands."

"Why of course you are! Don't you look just like your Uncle Dunston?
This is some game, Dave."

"I think so myself."

"What are you fellows confabbing about?" asked Roger, walking up.

"We're talking about a letter I just received," answered Dave. And then
the senator's son also read the communication.

"Say, this is a mystery and no mistake!" was Roger's comment. "And so
Nat thinks that Ward Porton is mixed up in it, eh? That is strange."

"What do you suppose he has to do with it, Roger?" questioned Phil.

"I am sure I don't know. But come to think of it, he did look like----"
And then Roger broke off in confusion.

"Look like what, Roger?" asked Dave, quickly.

"Oh, never mind, Dave, let's drop the subject and talk about what we are
going to do with Link Merwell."

"I think I know what you were going to say," went on our hero, and he
tried to speak calmly although his heart gave a sudden jump. "You were
going to say that Ward Porton looked like my Uncle Dunston and like me."

"Well, if you must know it, Dave, that is what did come into my mind. I
don't think he resembles you quite as much as he resembles your uncle,
to be really honest."

"Oh, say, Roger, drop that!" interposed Phil, hastily. "I think Dave
looks a good deal more like his uncle than Porton looks like Mr.
Porter."

"It's a queer mystery, that's certain," returned Dave, slowly. "I don't
like it, I must say," and his face showed more concern than it had for a
long while.

"Don't you take this too seriously, Dave!" cried Roger. "I believe at
the most it's only some game gotten up by Link Merwell. Now that we
have him a prisoner and can send him to jail for that robbery, more than
likely you won't hear anything further about it."

"I sincerely hope you speak the truth,"