"Then you are the son of the real Elias Gooddale?" asked Nat wonderingly, after a pause.
"I am, and I have in my chest the papers to prove it. But I never would take such steps but for the black treachery of my uncle—my mother's brother—for such is the relationship of the false Elias Gooddale to me. His right name is Jonas Meecham. Well, as I said, when we came out here I was only a little fellow. Father took up land on Ohdahmi and soon had a flourishing business on his hands.
"Then one day Jonas Meecham arrived. From what I have been able to gather, father had some secret on his conscience which Jonas Meecham also knew. At any rate, from what I saw as I grew older, I know that Meecham bled him for money constantly.
"Not long after I made this discovery poor mother died. I was then in a terrible position for a youngster, for father was moody and melancholy and Jonas was cruel and crafty and hated me. One day, it was after a trading schooner had called at the islands, father was missing. He left a letter for me, telling me that he had left the island forever, leaving all he had to Jonas and expressing the hope that he would never prosper.
"He had gone to seek a new fortune in California, he said. Well, after he left, Meecham, to avoid complications I suppose, assumed the name of Elias Gooddale. He was brutal and cruel to me, and one night I stowed away on a cocoanut schooner and escaped. I drifted about the islands for some time, learning much of sailoring and boat building. But all the time my goal was California. I longed to find my father. In the meantime, I assumed the name of Hinckley, for, since my uncle took it, my own was hateful to me.
"By the merest chance, as you know, I entered the service of Captain Akers. In that way I learned from you that you knew positively of the death of my father."
"And also that he found the fortune for which he was seeking, but found it too late to do him any good," struck in Nat. "Give me your hand, Sam. If things work out right, you will be a wealthy man."
"Why—what?" stammered Sam, astonished at the lad's enthusiasm.
"I mean what I say," went on Nat, who had not previously told Sam any of the details of their adventures. "We have, by an extraordinary coincidence, been holding in trust for you a fortune."
"A fortune? Where is it?" gasped Sam.