The freshman, who would enter the sophomore class next year, did not live in Columbia. He had come from a small place called Scarsdale, and boarded, being one of the pay pupils at Columbia High School.
There was a strange mystery connected with his life, and Frank had helped bring this very close to a settlement. Ralph had been adopted by the Wests when a mere baby, taken from the poorhouse in fact. Since the preceding summer, every month a remittance of forty dollars had come to him, with a few lines in typewriting in the first enclosure, wishing him success in obtaining a coveted education.
It turned out that this money came through an uncle of Frank's, a lawyer in New York. Finally it was discovered through the assistance of a man named Sam Smalling, that the baby had been left at the poorhouse at the instigation of one Arnold Musgrove, a gentleman who was now traveling with his wealthy widowed sister in Europe.
This lawyer uncle of Frank's was now chasing after the couple abroad, and Ralph anticipated hearing welcome news when Judge Allen found a chance to talk privately with Mrs. John Langworthy, as the lady was called.
"Well," said Frank, smiling, "you know we expected that it would turn up. Uncle has a fund to draw upon, and I suppose one of his clerks had orders to attend to it as usual while he was away. That shouldn't worry you, Ralph," and Frank threw an arm across the shoulders of his younger friend as he spoke.
Ralph's strange position had appealed strongly to the generous lad, who had never known the time when he was without the loving care of both father and mother. And Helen, too, was interested in him, since they were in the same class at school.
"Tell me about the boat. I was so busy up at the house looking over my things, that I didn't get down until too late. I wondered what all the noise was about, too. Was it stolen, really, and where did you find it, Frank?" he asked, eagerly, for Frank was his warmest friend and advisor, and Ralph loved him like a brother.
"Oh! you couldn't guess in a year. Where but on top of the new sky-scraper building they are putting up downtown;" and then, as Ralph expressed the utmost astonishment, Frank proceeded to tell him the particulars, not forgetting to explain what connection Minnie had with the discovery of the boat's lodging place.
"Of course though, it would have been found when the men went up to work. I don't think the fellows who played that prank really wanted to do anything more than have some fun at our expense. Perhaps they were some of our friends, and laughed secretly while they pretended to join in the scramble of a hunt. So I guess that after all Lef Seller and his crowd didn't happen to be in this game," remarked Frank.
"No, because he never stops at anything when he tries to get even with a fellow. I met Helen, and she was telling me about your upset last night, and that you had a sort of an idea Lef was the one responsible for it," Ralph went on.