"What? Do you mean it's bad news?" broke in Roger, quickly.
"It certainly is! Instead of losing twenty to thirty thousand dollars, my dad stands to lose about fifty thousand dollars on that land deal I mentioned to you some time ago."
"Why, how is that?" queried our hero, curiously. "Has the land gone up in value since then?"
"I don't know about the value of the land itself, but it's this way: Since that railroad made a bid for the acreage, another railroad has come into the field. They are going to run a rival line through that territory, and so they bid against the L. A. & H. Then the L. A. & H. railroad increased their bid, and the other folks did the same, so that now, if my father could give a clear deed to the land, he could sell it for about fifty thousand dollars."
"And hasn't he been able to get any trace of your Uncle Lester?"
"He has something of a clue, but so far he has been unable to locate my uncle. It certainly is a strange state of affairs."
"Won't the railroad company take the land without your uncle being represented in the deed?" questioned Roger.
"I don't think so. If they were willing to do that my father would put the deal through without delay. It certainly is too bad!" added Phil, with a sigh.
"It seems to me if I were you I'd get on the trail of your Uncle Lester somehow," was Roger's comment. "I wouldn't let that fifty thousand dollars get away from me. I'd hire detectives to scour the whole United States for the missing man."
"My father's doing all he can, Roger." Phil turned to our hero. "You got a letter, didn't you?"