“If they have, they haven’t reported it. They still are of the opinion, however, that those two noted bandits had something to do with the crime.”
“It might be so, Uncle Tom,” came from Jack. “I don’t believe the Browns or the Martells would have nerve enough to do the actual hold-up work themselves. They may have been in cahoots with these bandits.”
“Perhaps.” Tom Rover heaved a sigh. “I don’t care so much who did the trick. What I’m interested in is in getting our securities back.”
That day Jack received a short letter from Ruth. In it the girl stated that she was very sorry that the hold-up had occurred and that she sympathized deeply with the Rovers in their loss. She added that her mother was still sick from the shock and that her father was much depressed, not only on account of the hold-up but because he was having considerable trouble with the contractors who were building the new country home. She added that she made no plans for the rest of the summer and did not intend to make any.
It was a rather matter-of-fact letter, neither particularly cool nor particularly warm, and Jack hardly knew how to take it.
“I guess she thinks she has got to side with her mother and her father in this,” he mused. “Well, I can’t exactly blame her; it must have been a great blow to all of them.”
In the meantime Captain Corning was growing impatient to start his hunt for the missing steam yacht. He said that some other people had gotten hold of the story of Miguel Torra and the sunken Margarita, and he was afraid that they would organize another expedition and get ahead of him.
“I’ve had two or three parties come to me and hint that they would help me out financially if I’d divide with them,” said the captain to Sam Rover and the boys. “But I want to give you the first chance because you’ve been very nice about this and I sympathize with you in the trouble you’ve had.”
This brought on another long talk in which Dick Rover and Tom also joined.