d his
father. And then he added in a low tone: "We might have purchased our
freedom with those miniatures."

While Dunston Porter and Frank Andrews looked after the prisoners to
see that they did not get away, Dave and his chums took care of the
cases containing the precious miniatures, and thus the whole party
made its way to the engineering and construction camp. There the
Portons and Packard Brown were handcuffed, and word was sent to the
authorities to take charge of them.

"And now I've got to send word home about this good news!" cried Ben,
and lost no time in getting off a long telegram to his folks, and
asking them to inform Dave's father and the Wadsworths by telephone of
the success of the trip to Texas.

"That message ought to do your father more good than a dose of
medicine," remarked Dave.

"It will, Dave," answered Ben, his face beaming. "I know father will
recover now that he has nothing more to worry about." Ben was right.
The recovery of the fortune in miniatures did much toward restoring
the real estate dealer to his former good health.

In the camp it was remarked by a number of men how much Ward Porton
resembled Dave. But no one at that time dreamed that this resemblance
was shortly to come to an end. Yet such was a fact. When being
transferred from Texas to the State in which his crimes had been
committed, Ward Porton attempted to make his escape by leaping from a
rapidly moving railroad train. As a consequence he broke not only both
of his legs, but also his nose, and cut his right cheek most
frightfully. As a result, when he was retaken he had to remain in the
hospital for a long time, and when he came out his face was much
disfigured and he walked with a decided limp.

"It's too bad, but he brought it on himself," was Dave's comment, when
he heard of this.

"It's a good thing in one respect," was Roger's reply. "With his nose
broken and his cheek disfigured and with such a limp, no one will ever
take Ward Porton for you again."

It may be mentioned here that when the proper time came Ward Porton
and Tim Crapsey were brought to trial and each was given a long term
of imprisonment. Ward's father and the other men who had participated
in the attack on the Tolman ranch and on the bridge and had been
captured were also severely punished.

The store-keepers and the hotel-keeper who suffered through Ward
Porton's misrepresentations could get nothing from the young culprit,
but they had the