Dave Porter At Bear Camp: or, The Wild Man of Mirror Lake

"A telegram for Mr. David Porter!" called out one of the hotel boys, just after the lads had finished eating; and he passed the communication over to our hero.

"It's from Crumville, and from my father," said Dave, as he glanced at the communication, which ran as follows:

"Your telegram received. Glad to know the truth. We had suspected Porton of trickery. Merwell is in the game."

"It's just as I thought," said Dave, when he allowed his friends to read the communication. "Link Merwell told Porton about how I had come from the poorhouse, and then the pair hatched up this game between them. I only hope my folks catch them and give them what they deserve."

That afternoon found the lads again on the way to Plattsburg, and early on the following morning they set out on the return to Bear Camp.

"Oh, Dave! did you learn anything?" cried Laura, when the boys appeared.

"Yes, Laura, it's all cleared up!" he exclaimed, in a voice filled with joy. "Ward Porton is nothing but a faker. He is the real nephew of Obadiah Jones, and the son of Jones's youngest sister. I've got a document in my pocket to prove it."

"Oh, Dave, I'm so glad! so glad!" was the cry of the sister, and she threw herself into his arms and kissed him several times. Then Jessie came up and kissed him too, and so did Belle, followed by Mrs. Basswood, and finally Mrs. Wadsworth, who held him closely to her.

"I'm very, very glad for your sake, Dave," said the wife of the jewelry manufacturer. "But if you hadn't proved to be Dave Porter, I should have been only too glad to have adopted you as my son."

It was certainly a happy return, and that evening both bungalows were lit up brightly in honor of the occasion. Shadow was allowed to tell some of his best stories, Luke played on his banjo and his guitar, and the young folks sang one familiar song after another.

Three days, including Sunday, passed, and then came another surprise. Late in the evening Dave heard a well-known whistle on the trail leading to Carpen Falls, and a little later one of the old stage coaches came into view. All in the bungalows ran out to meet the newcomers, who proved to be Dave's father, his uncle, Mr. Wadsworth, and Mr. Basswood.

"Dad!" yelled Dave, and rushing to his parent he caught him tightly in his arms.

"My boy! my boy!" murmured Mr. Porter. "How very glad I am that this black cloud has passed away. But, Dave, don't think that I believed that story. I thought it was a fake from the start."

"And so did I," said Dunston Porter. "There couldn't be any Dave Porter but you!" and he gave Dave a good-natured thump between the shoulders that nearly knocked the wind out of the youth.

"We've got more news," declared Mr. Wadsworth, as he, too, came up for a handshake, followed by Ben's father. "They have collared Link Merwell at last."

"Is that so!" cried our hero.

"Yes, they caught him in a pawnbroker's shop," said Mr. Basswood. "And the best part of it is that they caught him trying to pawn my wife's silver spoons and Laura's two rings. The pawnbroker got suspicious, and as he happened to be an honest man, he called in a detective. This detective remembered the picture he had seen printed of Link at the time he and Jasniff stole the jewelry, and he at once placed Link under arrest."

"And then I went to see Link in prison," broke in Dave's father. "I had a long talk with him, about the burglary up here, and he admitted that he had thrown all that other stuff in the hollow just to inconvenience you. Then I made him confess that he and Ward Porton had concocted this scheme concerning Porton's identity between them. Merwell tried to bribe me by saying he wouldn't tell the truth about Porton unless I aided him to get clear of the charge made against him by Mr. Wadsworth. Of course I wouldn't agree to do that."

"It won't be necessary to have Link Merwell testify against Porton," declared Dave. "I've got a document here that shows up Porton for just what he is;" and later on he allowed his father and the others to read the paper which he had had Obadiah L. L. Jones sign.

"Oh, to think I'm to have my rings back, and Mrs. Basswood is to have her silverware!" cried Laura, with satisfaction. "Isn't it perfectly lovely?"

The days to follow at Bear Camp were happy ones indeed. The boys went hunting and fishing to their hearts' content, and often took the girls out in the boats or in the canoes. In the meanwhile some of the men folks returned to Crumville, and Phil took his uncle home.

It may be stated here that Phil's father and mother were filled with joy to have Lester Lawrence once more with them, and later on the land that the rival railroads wanted was sold to one of the roads for an even sixty thousand dollars, three-quarters of which amount went to Phil's father and the other quarter to the boy's uncle.

"I don't believe Ward Porton will ever bother you again, Dave," said Roger, one day, but the surmise of the senator's son proved incorrect. When Ward Porton learned that our hero had visited Obadiah Jones he lost no time in disappearing for awhile. But then he got back to his old tricks, and what he did will be related in another volume, to be entitled, "Dave Porter and His Double; Or, The Disappearance of the Basswood Fortune."

When Link Merwell was brought to trial, his father came forward and did everything he could for the wayward son. But it was proved beyond a doubt that Merwell had been as guilty as Jasniff, and he received an equal sentence of imprisonment.

"Poor Link! I feel sorry for him," was Dave's comment. "He might have made quite a man of himself."

The weather was now growing colder every day, and soon there was a trace of snow in the air.

"We'll have to leave Bear Camp very soon unless we want to be snowed in," declared Mrs. Wadsworth. And then after a conference, it was decided by all hands to pack up and go home.

"Well, in spite of our troubles, it's been a grand outing!" declared Roger.

"One of the best ever!" added Phil.

"I've had a perfectly lovely time!" came from Jessie. "But I do hope Dave never again runs into such trouble as he had up here."

"Well, a fellow has got to take things as they come," answered our hero.

And here, with the future looking cloudless and bright, we will leave Dave Porter and say good-bye.

THE END