down in
Maine."

"Why, you don't tell me, Mr. Porter!" exclaimed the lady, in
astonishment. "He told me once that he had lived with his folks up to
the time he was about ten years old, and that then his parents had died
and he had gone to live with an uncle."

"Yes, and he did live with an uncle--or at least some man he called his
uncle," added Della.

"Are you certain of this?" asked our hero, eagerly.

"I am, Mr. Porter."

"And may I ask what the thing was that you knew about him that caused
you to drop him?" continued Dave.

"Wait a minute, Della, before you answer that question," interposed Mrs.
Ford, hastily. "I think we ought to know why Mr. Porter is after this
information."

"Since we have gone so far, I may as well tell you," returned Dave. And
in as few words as possible he related how it had come about that Ward
Porton was now claiming to be the real Dave Porter.

"Why, what a queer story!" declared Mrs. Ford. "It sounds like some
novel."

"I don't believe it's true, Mr. Porter!" cried Della Ford. "I believe he
is a faker! At first I thought he was quite nice, but I soon discovered
otherwise. He is addicted to gambling, and when he gets the fever he
gambles away the very clothing on his back."

"Then that is why you broke with him?"

"That was one reason. But as I said before, I know more about Mr. Porton
than he imagined. One day we had been out walking, and after he left me
I picked up a letter which must have dropped from his pocket when he
pulled out his cigarette case. As the letter had no envelope, I did not
know whose it was, and read it. It was evidently written by a very angry
man. The writer, who signed himself Obadiah Jones, said that he was sick
and tired of putting up for Ward; that Ward could no longer expect any
assistance from him; that he cast the young man off, and never wanted to
hear from him again."

"And you say that letter was signed by a man named Obadiah Jones?" asked
Dave, eagerly.

"Yes. Rather an old-fashioned name; isn't it?"

"Did the man give his address?"

"No, there was no address of any kind on the letter," answered Della
Ford.

"Was this Obadiah Jones the man he said was his uncle?" continued our
hero.

"I don't know about that," answered the girl.

CHAPTER XXIX

THE BIG BEAR

Dave was very thoughtful as the four boys rowed back to the bungalows
with the things procured from Mr. Appleby. His talk with Della Ford and
her aunt had lasted u