The Rover Boys Down East: or, The Struggle for the Stanhope Fortune

“I imagine she has run away,” answered Dick. He drew a long breath. “Mr. Mason, I am going to ask you some questions. If you wish to avoid trouble with the authorities, you will answer me directly and truthfully.”

“Yes! Yes! I felt that something was wrong!” cried the old man. “I want no trouble, I am too old and respectable. What is it all about?”

“Briefly, a lady has been abducted and a fortune has been stolen.”

“Oh, then the lady they said was – er – insane, was not insane at all.”

“Did they tell you she was insane?”

“Yes, that is what Mrs. Sobber and one of the men said. They said they were going to take her to a private asylum.”

“The villains!” burst out Tom.

“What asylum?”

“I don’t know that. But I overheard them talking about taking a boat to Portland.”

“Portland?” repeated Dick. “Are you sure they were bound for that city?”

“Oh, I am not sure of anything – I am only telling you what I overheard.”

“Please tell us all about those men who came here, and about the lady, and about Mrs. Sobber,” pursued Dick.

“Hadn’t we better get after the auto?” asked Tom, who believed in action.

“You and Sam can try to hunt it up,” answered the elder Rover. “I’ll hear all Mr. Mason can tell first. It may give us a direct clue. I’ll meet you later at the Parker House.”

Sam and Tom went off, and then Dick listened patiently to the rather rambling tale Oliver Mason had to tell. The old man said that he had known Mrs. Sobber when her husband was alive and had hired her to be his housekeeper after the death of his three sisters and his wife.

“She was all alone in the world excepting for a young man named Tad Sobber, who came to see her once in a while,” said Oliver Mason. “I didn’t like the young man much, but the two had quite some business together.”

The old man then told how Mrs. Sobber had gone away for several days, stating she must look after a lady friend who had become insane. She stated that possibly she would bring the lady to the house for a day or two, but that if she did, Mr. Mason need not be afraid, for a doctor and a nurse would come along. Then the lady had arrived, in company with Tad Sobber and two men. He had not been allowed to talk to the woman, the others saying she might become violent in the presence of strangers. Then the lady had been taken away by the men and Tad Sobber the night before, and Tad Sobber had come back for Mrs. Sobber just about the time the Rovers tried to get into the house.

The story was told with such simpleness that Dick felt bound to believe it, and consequently he saw no reason for blaming Oliver Mason, who was, in truth, on the verge of second childhood.

“I must look around and see if those scamps left anything behind,” said Dick. “You won’t object to that, will you?”

“No! no!” cried the old man. “Only please do not take any of my few belongings.”

“I’ll not take anything, sir, you can trust me absolutely,” answered Dick, readily.

He made a search of the rooms, and especially the apartments occupied by Mrs. Stanhope and her abductors. At first he found little of value, although he picked up a handkerchief that had Mrs. Stanhope’s initials embroidered in the corner.

“That is proof positive that she was here,” he thought grimly.

In one of the fireplaces he came across some half-burnt letters. He looked them over with care and caught the post-mark, Portland, Me. On one slip he read the following:

easy from Portla

the schooner Mary Del

as we arrive, I will have

if not then Slay’s Island, where

“Humph! this may prove of value,” murmured Dick to himself, and placed the bit of letter in his pocket. Then he hunted around the rooms again, but nothing more came to light.

“Will Mrs. Sobber come back?” asked the old man, when Dick went below.

“I doubt it, sir.”

“She must be an awful woman, if what you say is true.”

“She is a criminal, Mr. Mason, and so is that Tad Sobber. I would advise you to have nothing more to do with them.”

“I must have a housekeeper,” whined the old man.

“Then hire somebody you are sure is honest,” returned Dick; and a few minutes later he quitted the house.

On his way to the hotel he met Sam and Tom, who had looked in vain for the automobile. In as few words as possible he told his brothers about what Oliver Mason had said, and of the finding of the slip of paper.

“What do you make of it?” asked Sam.

“I think they are going to Portland, either by auto or in a boat,” answered Dick.

“That’s just what I think,” added Tom. “But we may be mistaken.”

“Before we go any further, I am going to have that house watched,” went on Dick. “I’ll hire a first-class detective, and then, if Mrs. Sobber or any of the others come back, we’ll have ’em arrested.”

They visited a detective agency, and a man was put on the case without delay. Then the Rovers hurried down to the water front, to see if they could get any trace of Mrs. Stanhope there.

An hour’s tramping produced no results, and somewhat discouraged, they were on the point of going to the hotel, to meet Spud, when they saw an old sailor come from a restaurant close by.

“My friend,” said Dick, addressing the old tar, “I’d like to get some information. Did you ever hear of a schooner in these parts that was called the Mary Del something or other?”

“Mary Del?” repeated the old sailor, twisting his forelock. “Oh, I reckon you mean the Mary Delaway!” he cried. “Sure, I know her. Didn’t I see her sail for Portland less than an hour ago!”

CHAPTER XXII

A CHASE UP THE COAST

“You saw her sail for Portland!” cried Sam.

“Less than an hour ago?” exclaimed Tom.

“Where from?” queried Dick, quickly. “Hurry up and tell me – it will be money in your pocket.”

“The Mary Delaway sailed from Cruser’s dock,” answered the old sailor. “That’s about four blocks from here. I can show you the place. But you can’t get aboard, messmates – she’s gone.”