CLEAR SKIES.
The case against Ben Stone broke down right there. Lawyer Frances held
a hurried consultation with Lemuel Hayden and his son, and on his
advice the charge against Ben was withdrawn and Stone was dismissed,
exonerated.
The demonstration which followed was remarkable. People crowded around
Ben and Jerry and insisted on shaking the former’s hand and telling him
how pleased they were because his innocence had been established. His
schoolmates thumped him on the back and would have carried him on their
shoulders from the hall had he not fought against it. Mrs. Jones forced
her way through the crowd, with Jimmy hobbling on his crutches behind
her, and, sobbing her joy, clasped Ben in her arms.
“I knowed he wa’n’t no thief!” she cried happily. “Nobody that could be
good as he was to a little lame boy would steal. You’ve had a heap of
troubles, Ben, but they’re all over now. I don’t s’pose y’u have et
anything since y’u was locked up; but I cal’lated you’d git off, an’
I’ve got Sadie tendin’ a big roast, an’ we’ll have a feed that’ll give
y’u injunjesshun, which I guess y’u can stand once if Joel, my late
departed, could endure it all his born days. Land! but I’m so happy I
feel like cryin’ my eyes out.”
“With your permission, madam,” said Henry Bailey, “I would like to
accompany these two lads to your house, having a matter of great
importance to talk over with them.”
“Come right along, mister,” invited the widow. “There’ll be plenty of
vittles for y’u, too.”
Mr. Bailey was not the only one who accompanied them. Leaving the
courtroom, Ben and Jerry were escorted by a triumphal procession all
the way to Mrs. Jones’ gate, where twenty boys cheered the acquitted
lad, who paused upon the steps to look back at them, his plain face
illumined by an expression of joy which made it seem actually comely.
“Thank you, fellows,” he said, holding out his open hands to them.
“It’s good of you, and I’ll never forget it.”
Sleuth Piper started to make a speech.
“My deduction was——” he began.
“Your deduction was all right, Sleuth,” laughed Roger Eliot, giving him
a slap on the shoulder. “You’ve established your reputation as the
greatest detective of modern times, Sherlock Holmes not excepted.”
Even after the house was entered those boys were heard cheering for
Stone as they marched back into the village.
“Set right down, everybody,” invited the widow. “Make yourselves to
home while I take a look at the roast an’ git the potatoes to bakin’.”
“It is very fortunate, boys,” said Henry Bailey, “that this affair
terminated as well as it did. This is my first opportunity to talk with
you both together, and I’ll tell you now that much more good fortune is
in store for you. Jerry put himself to needless trouble by running away
ere his uncle’s will was read; for in that will, which was drawn up
barely two months before Asher Rand’s death, and which was found in Mr.
Rand’s small private safe, a legacy was left to you both—a legacy that
will place you beyond need.
“It seems that your father, in those years while he worked so privately
in his home, was engaged upon a very clever invention, which he had
practically perfected at the time of his unfortunate arrest. That
invention fell into the hands of Asher Rand, who, on learning its
value, was sorely tempted and kept its existence a secret, finally
disposing of it to a concern that pays a royalty upon it of three
thousand dollars yearly. Your uncle’s conscience must have been pricked
to a point which led him to draw up that last will, in which he
provides that the income from this invention shall be divided equally
between you both.
“But since Mr. Rand’s death there have been disclosures of still
greater importance. Nathan Driggs, the man who caused all your father’s
trouble and calamitous misfortune, has been ill for some months, and
recently he passed away. Ere he died, being satisfied beyond doubt that
there was no hope for him, he made a confession which fully exonerates
your father and clears his name of the stigma upon it. Driggs confessed
that your father’s testimony concerning him at the trial was absolutely
true—that he did bring the packages of dies for making counterfeit
money to your father, and, having deceived him regarding the contents
of those packages, induced him to conceal them in his house, where they
were found. Therefore Abner Stone was unjustly convicted of the crime
and died an innocent man through the effects of the wound he received
while trying to escape from prison.”
All this was so marvelous that it left the two boys breathless.
The widow had listened with speechless delight; and now, her eyes again
filled with tears of joy, she cried:
“Lands to mercy! Now ain’t that jest amazin’! Here I’ve been
entertainin’ under my roof a couple of heirs to wealth! Three thousand
dollars! Fifteen hundred dollars apiece! Why, it puts y’u both beyond
the touch of the tooth of avarice. I guess folks ’round this town will
set up an’ take notice when they hear about it.”
Ben gave his blind brother a hug. Everybody laughed. The little yellow
dog, sitting on his haunches and gazing at them, barked sharply, then,
with his mouth open, wrinkled his nose and bobbed his tongue.
“Look,” cried Jimmy—“look at Pilot! He’s laughing, too.”
* * * * *
Every cloud was gone from the sky, swept away to return no more. Ben
Stone, whose appearance in Oakdale had been so unfavorable, whose days
there had been so filled with trouble and strife, found himself the
hero of the village and the coveted friend of those lads who had once
regarded him with doubt and aversion. When he and Jerry and Pilot
departed, with Henry Bailey, who took the boys away until such time as
Asher Rand’s affairs should be definitely settled and a guardian
appointed for them, nearly every lad in the village, together with a
number of the girls and not a few of the older citizens, accompanied
them to the railway station.
“Ben,” said Roger Eliot, speaking for the party on the station
platform, “we’re proud of you, and we hate to see you leave us. We need
you on the eleven. It’s too bad you’re going away now.”
“My deduction is,” interrupted Sleuth Piper, “that he will come back.”
“Yes, boys,” promised Ben, with his hand grasping the iron rail of the
passenger coach, “I shall come back if I can. I have talked about it
with Mr. Bailey, and he thinks there will be no trouble in making the
arrangements. I have had something of a scramble in Oakdale, but I like
the place; for here at last I have found more friends that I ever knew
before. Oh, yes, I’m coming back if I can.”
Then the train bore him away.
* * * * *
He did come back. In less than two weeks he returned to finish his
course at the academy, stopping, as before, at the home of the Widow
Jones, but now having the best room in the house.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration]
=The=
=Golden Boys=
=Series=
BY L. P. WYMAN, PH.D.
Dean of Pennsylvania Military College.
A new series of instructive copyright stories for boys of High School
Age.
Handsome Cloth Binding.
PRICE, 65 CENTS EACH.
---------------------
THE GOLDEN BOYS AND THEIR NEW ELECTRIC CELL
THE GOLDEN BOYS AT THE FORTRESS
THE GOLDEN BOYS IN THE MAINE WOODS
THE GOLDEN BOYS WITH THE LUMBER JACKS
THE GOLDEN BOYS RESCUED BY RADIO
THE GOLDEN BOYS ALONG THE RIVER ALLAGASH
THE GOLDEN BOYS AT THE HAUNTED CAMP
--------------------------------------------------
For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price
by the Publishers
A. L. BURT COMPANY
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[Illustration]
=The=
=Boy Troopers=
=Series=
BY CLAIR W. HAYES
Author of the Famous “Boy Allies” Series.
The adventures of two boys with the Pennsylvania State Police.
All Copyrighted Titles.
Cloth Bound, with Attractive Cover Designs.
PRICE, 65 CENTS EACH.
---------------------
THE BOY TROOPERS ON THE TRAIL
THE BOY TROOPERS IN THE NORTHWEST
THE BOY TROOPERS ON STRIKE DUTY
THE BOY TROOPERS AMONG THE WILD MOUNTAINEERS
--------------------------------------------------
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the Publishers.
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[Illustration]
=The Boy Allies=
(Registered in the United States
Patent Office)
=With the Navy=
BY
ENSIGN ROBERT L. DRAKE
---------------------
For Boys 12 to 16 Years.
All Cloth Bound Copyright Titles
PRICE, 65 CENTS EACH
Frank Chadwick and Jack Templeton, young American lads, meet each other
in an unusual way soon after the declaration of war. Circumstances
place them on board the British cruiser, “The Sylph,” and from there
on, they share adventures with the sailors of the Allies. Ensign Robert
L. Drake, the author, is an experienced naval officer, and he describes
admirably the many exciting adventures of the two boys.
THE BOY ALLIES ON THE NORTH SEA PATROL; or, Striking the First Blow at
the German Fleet.
THE BOY ALLIES UNDER TWO FLAGS; or, Sweeping the Enemy from the Sea.
THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE FLYING SQUADRON; or, The Naval Raiders of the
Great War.
THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE TERROR OF THE SEA; or, The Last Shot of
Submarine D-16.
THE BOY ALLIES UNDER THE SEA; or, The Vanishing Submarine.
THE BOY ALLIES IN THE BALTIC; or, Through Fields of Ice to Aid the Czar.
THE BOY ALLIES AT JUTLAND; or, The Greatest Naval Battle of History.
THE BOY ALLIES WITH UNCLE SAM’S CRUISERS; or, Convoying the American
Army Across the Atlantic.
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Empire.
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Navy.
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[Illustration]
=The Boy Allies=
(Registered in the United States
Patent Office)
With the Army
BY CLAIR W. HAYES
---------------------
For Boys 12 to 16 Years.
All Cloth Bound Copyright Titles
PRICE, 65 CENTS EACH
In this series we follow the fortunes of two American lads unable to
leave Europe after war is declared. They meet the soldiers of the
Allies, and decide to cast their lot with them. Their experiences and
escapes are many, and furnish plenty of good, healthy action that every
boy loves.
THE BOY ALLIES AT LIEGE; or, Through Lines of Steel.
THE BOY ALLIES ON THE FIRING LINE; or, Twelve Days Battle Along the
Marne.
THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE COSSACKS; or, A Wild Dash Over the Carpathians.
THE BOY ALLIES IN THE TRENCHES; or, Midst Shot and Shell Along the
Aisne.
THE BOY ALLIES IN GREAT PERIL; or, With the Italian Army In the Alps.
THE BOY ALLIES IN THE BALKAN CAMPAIGN; or, The Struggle to Save a
Nation.
THE BOY ALLIES ON THE SOMME; or, Courage and Bravery Rewarded.
THE BOY ALLIES AT VERDUN; or, Saving France from the Enemy.
THE BOY ALLIES UNDER THE STARS AND STRIPES; or, Leading the American
Troops to the Firing Line.
THE BOY ALLIES WITH HAIG IN FLANDERS; or, The Fighting Canadians of
Vimy Ridge.
THE BOY ALLIES WITH PERSHING IN FRANCE; or, Over the Top at Chateau
Thierry.
THE BOY ALLIES WITH THE GREAT ADVANCE; or, Driving the Enemy Through
France and Belgium.
THE BOY ALLIES WITH MARSHAL FOCH; or, The Closing Days of the Great
World War.
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transcriber's note:
page 157 - changed "picyunish" to "picayunish"
...same picyunish, selfish...
no page number - ad - The Boy Allies with the Navy
changed "JUTLND" to "JUTLAND"
THE BOY ALLIES AT JUTLND
no page number - ad - The Boy Allies with the Army
changed "ALIES" to "ALLIES"
THE BOY ALIES WITH THE GREAT ADVANCE