"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," b