ayed toward
his nephews. He spoke in terms of great respect of Mr. Montgomery and
confirmed what the little memorandum book had revealed as to the amount
of the debt. He declared that if the money was found he wanted nothing
but the principal, and stated that the interest could go to Ross and his
mother as a gift. He warned the boys about letting their hopes get too
high, but at the same time urged them to spare no time or pains in the
search. If they were successful, they could depend on him to reward them
handsomely. As they might need a little extra money he was enclosing
fifty dollars, to be used in any way they might think best in carrying
on the hunt.

"He's not such a bad old chap after all," observed Fred, as they
finished reading the letter.

"You bet he isn't!" echoed Teddy. "There are lots of worse fellows than
Uncle Aaron."

With this qualified praise, they sought out their comrades, who were
almost as delighted as the Rushton boys themselves were at the letter
and the money order.

"It's up to us now to get busier than ever," remarked Lester. "It won't
do to disappoint him after raising his hopes."

"That's what," replied Fred. "So get out the maps you were talking about
yesterday, and we'll lay our plans for the next week or two."

The boys went to the room where the government maps were kept. These
showed every creek and inlet and cove and indentation of the Maine
coast, together with the depths of water at these points and a host of
other details that were of use to seafaring men.

The boys went at them in a businesslike way, picking out those places
most likely to be entered by a sailing ship, rejecting others that were
difficult or dangerous to approach, until they had mapped out a program
that would keep them busy for ten days to come.

Toward evening the storm gave signs of having spent its worst fury, and
just before supper a rift appeared in the clouds on the western horizon.

"That looks promising," observed Lester to Teddy, who was looking out
over the water with him. "Probably it will clear up during the night and
we'll have a peach of a day to-morrow."

"I certainly hope so," replied Teddy. "I don't so much mind being cooped
up for one day, but after that it gets kind of monotonous. The strenuous
life for me, every time."

"Yes," agreed Lester, "one day is about my limit, too. If it's clear
to-morrow, I'll have to go over to Bartanet to order some supplies and
maybe you and the re