“So Mr. Holmes was Bessie’s uncle!” said Eleanor, amazed. “But why did he act so?”
“I can explain that,” said Charlie, sternly. “It was he who set his father so strongly against his sister’s marriage to Mr. Richards. He expected that he would inherit, as a result, her share of his father’s estate, as well as his own. But his plans miscarried. Mrs. Richards and her husband had disappeared before her father’s death, and, when he softened and was inclined to relent, he could not find them. But he knew they had a daughter, and he left to her his daughter’s share of his fortune–over a million dollars. There was no trace of the child, however, and so there was a provision in the will that if she did not come forward to claim the money on her eighteenth birthday it should go to her uncle–to Holmes.”
“I always said it was money that was making him act that way!” cried Dolly Ransom.
“Yes,” said Jamieson. “He had squandered much of his own money–he wanted to make sure of getting Bessie’s fortune for himself. So when he learned through Silas Weeks where the child was, he paid Mrs. Hoover to tell her parents she was dead, and then, after she had run away, he and Weeks did all they could to get her back to a place where there was no chance of anyone finding out who she was. They nearly succeeded–but I have been able to block their plans. And one reason is that they were greedy and they couldn’t let Zara Slavin and her father alone. He is a great inventor and they profited by his ignorance of American customs.”
“I only found out her name last night,” said Eleanor. “I wondered if he could be the Slavin who invented the new wireless telephone–”
“They got him into jail on a trumped-up charge,” said Charlie. “And then they tried to keep Zara away from people who might learn the truth from her, and offer to supply the money he needed. In a little while they would have robbed him of all the profits of his invention.”
“I’ll finance it myself,” said Richards, “and he can keep all of the profit.”
Bessie’s father and mother were far too glad to get her back to want to punish Ma Hoover, who was sincerely repentant. They could hardly find words enough to thank Eleanor and Dolly for their friendship, and to Charlie Jamieson their gratitude was unbounded.
But suddenly, even while the talk was at its height, there was a diversion. Billy Trenwith, his clothes torn, his hands chafed and bleeding, appeared on the dock.
“Good Heavens, Billy, I’d forgotten all about you!” said Charlie. “Where have you been?”