your rooms this evening and give you a full
explanation."

"No!" cried Frank, promptly, "you will give me an explanation here and
immediately."

"I do not think you will press me to that," was the calm assertion. "I
might speak of affairs of a personal and family nature."

"You--you speak of such affairs--to me? Now it strikes me that you are
attempting a bluff, sir; but it will not work."

The stranger reached into his pocket and took out something, which he
held up before Frank's eyes.

"This," he said, with confidence, "will convince you that I speak
nothing but the truth."

"My father's ring!" gasped Frank.

"Yes," bowed the man; "it is the ring that led him to one of the richest
mines in the Southwest. He said that it would simply be necessary for me
to show it to you, and you would know that he sent me. Shall I call
this evening, Mr. Merriwell?"

"If you please, sir," said Frank, bowing respectfully.

The boys were surprised, but Frank said he would explain some time
later.

That evening the stranger called, as he had said he would. Frank had
taken pains to run Harry out of the room, so they were quite alone. The
boy locked the door, as a precaution against unwelcome interruptions.

The mysterious man introduced himself as David Scott, the confidential
agent of Charles Merriwell, Frank's unfortunate father, who had spent
the best years of his life and separated himself from his family and
friends in the mad search after "phantom fortune."

At last Charles Merriwell had "struck it rich," and he was now a very
wealthy man; but he was broken in health, and he often feared for his
reason. As Charles Merriwell had been eccentric and unfathomable all his
life while poor, thus he remained now that he was rich. Of late he had
been seized by a conviction that he could not live long, and it was his
desire to make a will that would give almost his entire wealth to his
son. But before he made such a will, Mr. Merriwell decided to know just
what sort of a young man his son had become. As he did not feel like
leaving his mine and going East to investigate, he sent his confidential
clerk, David Scott.

In his instructions to Scott, Charles Merriwell showed the peculiarities
of his character. He provided the agent with plenty of money, and
instructed him to thoroughly probe the inward character of the youth
about which he was to acquire information. Scott was instructed to
discover all of Frank's bad habits, and