nto an enterprise which Bob West had
proposed, but finally preferred another venture and so withdrew their
money altogether from the Almaquo tract.

This statement caused both Joe and Ethel to stare hard, but they said
nothing.

"Your grandfather, Ethel," continued the narrator, "was much impressed
by the value of another timber tract, although where he got his
information concerning it I have been unable to discover. This piece of
property, called the Bogue tract, was purchased by Wegg and Thompson
with the money they withdrew from Almaquo, and still stands in
their name."

Then he recounted, quite frankly, his unjust suspicions of the hardware
dealer, and told of the interview in which the full details of this
transaction were disclosed by West, as well as the truth relating to the
death of Captain Wegg and the sudden insanity and paralysis of old
Will Thompson.

Joe could corroborate this last, and now understood why Thompson had
cried out that West's "good news" had killed his father. He meant, of
course, their narrow escape from being involved in West's supposed ruin,
for at that time no one knew the report of the fire was false.

Finally, these matters being cleared up, Uncle John declared that the
Pierce-Lane Lumber Company was willing to contract to cut the timber on
the Bogue property, or would pay a lump sum of two hundred thousand
dollars for such title to the tract as could be given. He did not add
that he had personally offered to guarantee the title. That was an
unnecessary bit of information.

You may perhaps imagine the happiness this announcement gave Joe and
Ethel. They could scarcely believe the good news was true, even when the
kindly old gentleman, with tears in his eyes, congratulated the young
couple on the fortune in store for them. The Major followed with a happy
speech of felicitation, and then the three girls hugged the little
school teacher rapturously and told her how glad they were.

"I think, sir," said Joe, striving to curb his elation, "that it will be
better in the end for us to accept the royalty. Don't you?"

"I do, indeed, my boy," was the reply. "For if our people make an offer
for the land of two hundred thousand you may rest assured it is worth
much more. The manager has confided to me in his letter that if we are
obliged to pay royalties the timber will cost us nearly double what it
would by an outright purchase of the tract."

"In that case, sir," began Joe, eagerly,