“I’ve heard already about the capture of Ditini and Ronombo,” said Dick Rover. “And we’ve been able to make Ronombo confess that he and Ditini got half of the loot while Brown and Martell got the other half which they were to divide between themselves, Greene, Koswell, Pelter, Japson, and several others.”
“I suppose the others included Crabtree,” remarked Fred.
“No, the old man was to be left out in the cold, along with another man who has also been rounded up. Those fellows are going to turn state’s evidence if it becomes necessary to use them. But there is still more to tell,” went on Dick Rover, with a smile.
“What’s that, Dad?” questioned Jack quickly.
“The detectives followed Ken Greene to Galveston after you found out where he was bound, and later they learned that the Martells and the Browns had left Buffalo for this same city. They came down here, and as soon as I heard of what was going on I left the oil fields in the upper part of the state and came down also. After some difficulty we located Greene and then found out where the whole gang were to assemble. We notified the authorities and they set a guard, and as a consequence the whole crowd are now in custody in this city. As soon as we can get the necessary extradition papers we’ll have them taken to New York.”
“And what of the securities?” put in Randy.
“The securities apportioned to Slogwell Brown and Nelson Martell were found in a room at their hotel and are now in my possession. We have also recovered eight thousand dollars’ worth of the ten thousand dollars that Ditini had and about three-quarters of the stuff with which Black Ronombo made off. He had sold some of the bonds, and these we are now trying to trace.”
It may be added here that the search for the missing securities was prosecuted with vigor, and as a result of this all of the valuables taken from the offices in Wall Street were recovered with the single exception of one one-thousand-dollar Liberty Bond. And let us also add that before the year came to a close every one of those concerned in the hold-up but Josiah Crabtree was tried for the crime and sent to prison. Crabtree, old and broken, was allowed to go his way, the Rovers giving him a small amount of money to keep him from starving.
There was some dispute regarding the rewards offered for the capture of Ditini and Ronombo, but the claim of the Rover boys was prosecuted with vigor and in the end they received forty thousand dollars, which amount they divided equally.
Experts had to be called in to inspect the treasure from the Margarita, and then the various articles were disposed of, some in a purely commercial way and others as art treasures. The total value of the collection footed up to one hundred and twenty thousand dollars, of which the boys received eighty thousand dollars.