He turned on the little electric lamp, and by its rays they inspected the apartment. It was a bedroom, and in one corner was an old bedstead and on it a musty straw mattress. In another corner was a closet containing several shelves.
"Here is an old inkwell," said Dick, and brought it forth. "And here are the remains of a box of writing paper and envelopes."
"Any letters?" asked Fred.
They looked around, but at first could find no writings of any kind. But behind one of the shelves, in a crack, they discovered several sheets of paper and took these to the light to read.
"They are parts of letters from Mr. Sobber to his wife," said Dick. "They must have been written by Tad's father."
"He speaks here of Merrick," added Tom, who was scanning a blurred page. "Merrick is Mrs. Sobber's brother beyond a doubt."
"From these letters I should say Mr. Sobber had been off on a sea trip," continued the eldest Rover boy. "And it looks to me as if he had been an honest man, for he tells his wife that he hopes Merrick will give up his gambling habits."
From the bedroom the boys entered what had been the parlor of the house. This was almost bare. To one side of the parlor was an entry-way, and here was a stairs leading to the second story and another leading to the cellar.
"Well, shall we go up or down?" queried Dick.
"Let us see what the cellar looks like first," answered Sam. "Perhaps we'll find a pot of gold there."