The High School Boys in Summer Camp | Page 7

had not gone a block and a half ere they
encountered Dave, Tom and the others, only Dick being absent from
the gathering of the chums. Curiously, too, the meeting took place
before the same ice cream shop.
"Just in time to have some more cream, boys," suggested young Mr.
Hibbert.
"And we'd enjoy it, too, thank you," responded Tom courteously, "but
there is a point, sir, past which it would be imposition to go. So we are
going to content ourselves with enjoying a very pleasant recollection of
the good time we had with you this afternoon."
"Better come inside with us," urged Mr. Colquitt. "I notice a table,
away over in the corner, where we can be by ourselves. You see, boys,
after what Hibbert said to one of your number this afternoon, we feel
that an explanation is due to you. We can explain inside much better
than we could on a street corner."
That crowbar of curiosity wedged the boys away from their fear that
they were accepting too much from strangers. So they followed their

mysterious conductors inside. Young Mr. Hibbert ordered ices similar
to those that had been enjoyed that afternoon. Then Mr. Colquitt, with a
brisk air, began:
"Concerning that suspicion that young Holmes might be the missing
heir to a large sum of money, I'll tell you how Mr. Hibbert got his
idea."
Then, as though fearing that he had made too great a promise, Mr.
Colquitt paused.
"It's this way," he went on, at last. "Many years ago there was a railway
wreck in this part of the state. A good many passengers were killed.
Among them was the wife of a wealthy man. The husband escaped with
his life, but he was so badly hurt that, for a year or so, his mind
suffered. He had to be taken abroad. There were a few babies among
those killed in the wreck, and the infant son of the couple was supposed
to be one of them. The father is now well and healthy, but a very lonely
man. Within the last few weeks this father has had some reason to
believe that his son didn't perish in the wreck, but that other people,
believing both parents had been killed, took charge of the infant.
"That is all," continued Mr. Colquitt, "except that the missing infant
had a small v-shaped nick on the outer edge of his right ear. Probably
with the boy's growth, if he is still alive, the nick has become so small
as to be barely noticeable, like the nick in Holmes' right ear. Mr.
Hibbert came to Gridley only yesterday, and it happened that one of the
first young men he saw, close to the hotel, was young Holmes. Rather
by chance Hibbert saw that very small nick, that usually would escape
notice. In great excitement Hibbert telegraphed the anxious father, and
the father wired Blinders' detective agency, which sent me down to
Gridley."
"It isn't possible that Greg can be the missing son," breathed Tom
Reade incredulously.
"He isn't," declared Tom Colquitt promptly. "I made sure of that very
soon after I reached town to-day. First of all, I found out the name of

the family physician, Dr. Bentley. I saw that gentleman, and he assured
me he knew that young Holmes was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Holmes,
for Dr. Bentley told me that he signed young Greg's birth certificate.
That was proof enough, but I also saw Mr. and Mrs. Holmes, a few
minutes ago. The missing son of the wealthy man in question had two
other marks on his body that would identify him."
"What are those marks?" asked Dave Darrin deeply interested.
Tom Colquitt hesitated, glancing at young Mr. Hibbert.
"Tell 'em," nodded the young man of the four-quart hat.
"The young man we are seeking," replied the detective, "will have a
brownish mole over his right shoulder blade and a reddish mark to the
left of his breast bone. The boy was born with those marks. The nick in
his ear resulted from an accident when the nurse was handling the
child."
"We'll find the youngster for you," promised Danny Grin lightly.
"And is Mr. Hibbert a detective, too?" asked Tom Reade.
"No," replied Colquitt, with great promptness, while Mr. Hibbert,
grinning sheepishly, added:
"I haven't brains enough for that, I guess. But, Master Holmes, please
tell me, to satisfy my last doubt. Have you any such marks as Mr.
Colquitt has described?"
"I never noticed such marks on myself," Greg replied.
"He hasn't them," Dave interjected, "or the rest of us would have
noticed the marks when we've been in swimming."
"Then your last idea that Gregory Holmes is the missing young man
must vanish now, my dear Mr. Hibbert," smiled Mr.