"If you'll tell me what you know about Ward Porton, I'll promise that it won't get you into any trouble," answered Dave, quickly. "I want, if possible, to find out where he came from, and who brought him up."
"Who brought him up?" queried Mrs. Ford. "Didn't he live with his parents?"
"He says not. He claims to have come from a poorhouse in a town down in Maine."
"Why, you don't tell me, Mr. Porter!" exclaimed the lady, in astonishment. "He told me once that he had lived with his folks up to the time he was about ten years old, and that then his parents had died and he had gone to live with an uncle."
"Yes, and he did live with an uncle—or at least some man he called his uncle," added Della.
"Are you certain of this?" asked our hero, eagerly.
"I am, Mr. Porter."
"And may I ask what the thing was that you knew about him that caused you to drop him?" continued Dave.
"Wait a minute, Della, before you answer that question," interposed Mrs. Ford, hastily. "I think we ought to know why Mr. Porter is after this information."
"Since we have gone so far, I may as well tell you," returned Dave. And in as few words as possible he related how it had come about that Ward Porton was now claiming to be the real Dave Porter.