De Vere
received the boys in his room, which his friend, the physician had
provided.
"I do not want to detain you boys too long," he said, "and it is not
necessary to go into all the details of my story now. I will tell you
a little of it, and then I have a request to make of you. I have been
making plans while the doctor was working over me. It helped me to
forget the pain."
"We'll do anything we can for you," promised Jerry, and the other boys
nodded in assent.
"Well, Blowitz and I have been associated in many enterprises," said
Mr. De Vere, "but, of late, I have had my suspicions of him. I began
to fear he was trying to get the best of me, so that he would control
all the interests. Now I am sure of it.
"We went equal shares in loading the brig Rockhaven with valuable
merchandise, for trade among the Santa Barbara Islands. There was
also, aboard the brig, some valuable papers, and a considerable sum in
gold, that was to go to a client of ours. After the ship was loaded I
learned that Blowitz sent some mysterious boxes aboard. They came from
Boston, I understand. I--"
"Those are the boxes we saw in Cresville!" exclaimed Bob.
"What's that?" asked Mr. De Vere, and the boys explained the curious
actions of Blowitz in connection with the boxes.
"Very likely they were the same," said Mr. De Vere. "What they
contained I do not know, but I--"
"Excuse me for interrupting you," said Jerry, "but I think at least
one of the boxes contained something poisonous," and he related how
the dog, in the Cresville freight station, had been affected by
smelling at the broken package.
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