Dave Porter on Cave Island; Or, A Schoolboy's Mysterious Mission

by Edward Stratemeyer

  CHAPTER XII--THE TELLTALE CIGARETTE BOX

  The watchman was indeed in bad shape. He had been found thrown under aworkbench, and just returning to consciousness. He had a cut over hisleft ear and another on his forehead, from which the blood had flowedfreely.

  "Must have struck him with a club, or an iron bar," was the opinion ofthe chief, as the injured man was carried into the office and placed onsome chair cushions. Here his wounds were washed and bound up, while oneofficer ran to get a doctor who lived not a great distance off.

  It was some little time before Tony Wells, who was nearly seventy yearsof age, opened his eyes to stare around him.

  "Don't--don't hit me again!" he murmured. "I--I didn't touch you!"

  "It's all right, Tony!" said the chief. "Those fellows are gone. You'reamong friends."

  "They--knocked me down!" gasped the old watchman. "I--I--tried totelephone--after the explosion, but--but----" He could not go on, andsuddenly relapsed again into unconsciousness.

  "Poor fellow!" said Mr. Wadsworth, tenderly. "We must do what we can forhim."

  "Is anything missing besides the jewels?" asked Dave, while they werewaiting for the doctor to come, and waiting to hear from the others whohad gone out.

  "No, Dave. But that is enough. If they are not recovered, I shall beruined."

  "Can they hold you responsible for the loss?"

  "Yes, for when I took the jewels to re-set I guaranteed the safe returnof each jewel. I had to do that because they were afraid some workmenmight try to substitute other jewels not so good--which is sometimesdone."

  "And you said they were worth seventy-five thousand dollars?"

  "All of that."

  "Those robbers certainly made a haul."

  "It drives me crazy to think about it," groaned Oliver Wadsworth.

  "Perhaps the others who went out will catch them," answered our hero,hopefully.

  Soon the doctor arrived and took charge of old Tony Wells, whom he knewwell. As Wells was a widower, living alone, the doctor said he wouldtake the old man to his own home, where he could have constantattention.

  "He is already in a fever," said the physician. "We had better not tryto question him at present. It will only excite him the more." And alittle later the sufferer was placed on a litter and carried to thedoctor's residence.

  By this time the news was circulating that the Wadsworth jewelry workshad been robbed, and many persons spent the rest of the night lookingfor the two young men who were supposed to be guilty of the crime.Oliver Wadsworth and an officer remained at the offices, guarding thewrecked place and looking for clews of the evildoers. But nothing in theway of evidence against the robbers was brought to light, excepting thatthey had used several drills and some dynamite on the two old safes,probably blowing them up simultaneously. They had taken the tool-bagwith its contents with them and also another small valise, belonging toone of Mr. Wadsworth's traveling salesmen.

  "I can't understand why Tony Wells didn't discover them when they firstcame in," said Dave.

  "Maybe he did and they made him a prisoner," suggested Mr. Wadsworth."Tony was very faithful--the best watchman I ever had."

  Daylight came at last and still the search for the two robbers was keptup. In the meantime, telegrams and telephone messages had been sent inall directions. To stimulate the searchers Mr. Wadsworth offered areward of one thousand dollars for the recovery of the jewels and thisreward was later on increased to five thousand dollars.

  When Tony Wells was well enough to tell his story he said he had beengoing the rounds of the works when he suddenly found himself confrontedby two masked men. He had started to cry out and run for help when themen had seized him and thrown him down and bound him fast to awork-bench. Then the men had gone to the offices, and later on had comethe explosion. He knew they were blowing open the safes and did what hecould to free himself. At last he managed to get free, but found himselftoo weak to run for help. He had dragged himself to the telephone in theshipping-room and was sending his message to Mr. Wadsworth when themasked men had again appeared and knocked him down. That was all heremembered until the time he was found, as already described.

  "You did not see the faces of the two men?" asked Oliver Wadsworth.

  "No, sir, they were all covered with black masks. But I think thefellows was rather young-like," answered the old watchman. "Both of 'emwas about the size of Dave Porter,--but neither of 'em was Dave,--I knowthat by the voices," he went on, hastily.

  "No, Dave was at home with me," said Oliver Wadsworth. "But he and oneof his friends passed the works just before the explosion."

  The news of the robbery had upset the Wadsworth household completely.Mrs. Wadsworth was as much distressed as her husband, and Jessie was aspale as if seriously ill.

  "Oh, Dave, supposing the jewels are not recovered!" said Jessie, whenthey met in the hallway. "It will ruin father,--I heard him tell mammaso!"

  "We are going to get them back--we've simply got to do it," Dave replied.

  "But how? Nobody seems to know what has become of the robbers."

  "Oh, just wait, Jessie. We are sure to get some trace of them sooner orlater."

  "What makes you so hopeful, Dave?" and now the girl suddenly clutchedhis arm. "Have you a clew?"

  "I think so, but I am not sure. I am going to talk to your father aboutit, and then I am going to take another look around Crumville and aroundthe offices."

  Dave's father and his Uncle Dunston had been out all day, and so hadPhil and Roger and Ben, and a score of others, including the officers ofthe law. But nothing had been seen or heard of the mysterious men withthe tool-bag. Another tramp had been rounded up, but he knew absolutelynothing of the crime and was let go again.

  Oliver Wadsworth's face was white and drawn and he looked as if he hadsuddenly grown five years older. He had a long, private conversationwith Dave's father and Dunston Porter, and all three men looked verygrave when the conference came to an end.

  There was good cause for this seriousness. The new addition to thejewelry works had placed Mr. Wadsworth in debt. The Porters had lent himtwenty thousand dollars, and, just then, could lend him no more, havinga number of obligations of their own to meet.

  The Carwith jewels were the property of Mr. and Mrs. Ridgeway OsgoodCarwith, of Fifth Avenue, New York City. The Carwiths were now on a triparound the world, but were expected home some time in the spring. Mr.Wadsworth had agreed to re-set the jewels according to designs alreadyaccepted by the millionaire and his wife, and had guaranteed the safereturn of the jewels, re-set as specified, not later than the first ofthe following May. As the millionaire was a strict business man he haddemanded a bond for the safe return of his property, and this bond hadbeen given by Mr. Wadsworth, indorsed by David Breslow Porter andDunston Porter.

  Thus it will readily be seen that the millionaire and his wife wereamply secured. If they did not get the jewels back they would demand thepayment of the bond, worth seventy-five thousand dollars, and Mr.Wadsworth and the Porters would have to make good.

  On the second day after the robbery, Dave, Roger, and Phil went down tothe jewelry works and began a close investigation on their own account.Dave had mentioned something to his chums that had caused them to opentheir eyes in astonishment.

  An hour was spent around the offices, and then Phil picked up an emptycigarette case. He took it to Dave and Roger and both looked at it withkeen interest.

  "I guess that is another clew," said our hero. "Let us look around somemore."

  "I'm going for the train now," said the senator's son, a little later."And as soon as I find Hooker Montgomery I'll let you know."

  "Yes, and make him come here, whether he wants to or not," cried Dave.

  "You leave that to me," answered Roger, grimly.

  Oliver Wadsworth had been interviewing a private detective, and soon theman left, stating he thought he could lay his hands on the guiltyparties.

  "I'll look for Tom Basnett," said the detective. "This looks l
ike one ofhis jobs."

  "I don't care whose job it is--I want the jewels back," said Mr.Wadsworth, wearily. He had not slept since the crime had been committed.

  "Mr. Wadsworth, Phil and I would like to talk to you in private," saidDave, when he could get the chance.

  "You have some clew, Dave?"

  "Well, I want to tell you something, and then you can judge foryourself."

  "Very well, come with me," answered the manufacturer, and led the way toa little side-room, used by the salesmen for exhibiting wares topossible customers.

  "I want to tell you all about something that happened early in thewinter, while I was at Oak Hall," said Dave. And then he told of how hehad called on the fake doctor, Hooker Montgomery, and how he had beenattacked from behind and made a prisoner, and carried off to a house inthe woods, the particulars of which have already been set down in "DavePorter and His Rivals."

  "The fellows who carried me off were the doctor and the driver, who wasonly a tool, and two fellows who have caused me a lot of trouble in thepast, Nick Jasniff and Link Merwell," went on our hero. "When I got awayI tried to follow up Jasniff and Merwell, but they got away from me, andso did the driver get away. But one day I found Hooker Montgomery, andby threatening to have him arrested I made him confess to the truth,which was that Jasniff and Merwell had hired him to help get me in theirpower. At first they told Montgomery it was only a schoolboy trick, andhe said he believed them, but, later on, it leaked out that Jasniff andMerwell had another motive in making me a prisoner."

  "And that motive----?" began Oliver Wadsworth, with deep interest.

  "Doctor Montgomery said that Jasniff and Merwell had in mind to drug meand take me to some place a good distance from Oak Hall. He said he alsoheard them speak of robbing a jewelry works, and I was to be drugged andleft in the factory,--to make it appear as if I had done the deed and asif the blowing up of a safe had stunned me."

  "Dave, is this possible!" exclaimed the manufacturer.

  "It is true, Mr. Wadsworth," said Phil. "I was along and so was Roger atthe time. Montgomery couldn't give many details, but he said he thoughtJasniff and Merwell were cold-blooded villains and he wanted nothingmore to do with them."

  "This looks as if those rascals, Jasniff and Merwell, had come here."

  "I believe they did come," went on Dave. "And here is one clew we havealready picked up against them." And he held up the empty cigarette box.

  "What is that? Only a cigarette box. How can that be a clew?"

  "I will tell you. Both Jasniff and Merwell are inveterate cigarettesmokers. I have seen them smoking many times. They smoke a Turkish brandof cigarettes, having a peculiar blue and gold band around the box. Thisis the same kind of a box, and I am convinced that this box was emptiedand thrown away in your offices by Jasniff or Merwell."