William Bodley brought out some letters he possessed. Man and

boy went over everything with care.
"You must be my son!" cried William Bodley. "Thank heaven you

are found!" And they shook hands warmly.
He told Joe to move over to the cabin, and our hero did so. It

was a neat and clean place and soon Joe felt at home. Then he
heard his father's tale in detail--an odd and wonderful story--of

great trials and hardship.
"There will always be something of a mystery about this," said

William Bodley. "But, no matter, so long as I have you with me."
"Uncle Hiram was a queer stick," answered Joe. "I suppose if he

was alive he could explain many things." And in this Joe was
correct.

Let us add a few words more and then draw our tale to a close.
When Joe told Maurice Vane how he had found a father the

gentlemen was much astonished. So were the Badgers, but all were
glad matters had ended so well.

It was found that William Bodley's mine was a valuable one. The
ore in it was about equal to the ore in the mine owned by Maurice

Vane, and this was likewise equal to that in the mine run by
Mr. Badger.

After some conversation on the subject it was agreed by all the
interested parties to form a new company, embracing all the

mines. Of the shares of this new concern, one-third went to
Maurice Vane, one-third to the Badgers, and one-third to William

Bodley and Joe. The necessary machinery was duly installed, and
to-day the new company is making money fast.

On the day after his trouble with Mr. Bodley, Bill Butts
disappeared from town. But a week later he was arrested in

Denver and sent to jail for two years for swindling a ranchman.
During the following summer Joe received a visit from his old

friend Ned, and the two boys had a delightful time together. In
the meantime Joe spent half of his time at the mine and half over

his books, for he was determined to get a good education.
For a long time William Bodley had been in feeble health, but

with the coming of Joe on the scene he began to mend rapidly, and
was soon as hale and hearty as anybody. He was an expert miner,

and was made general superintendent for the new company.
To-day Joe has a good education and is rich, but come what may,

it is not likely that he will forget those days when he was known
as "Joe the Hotel Boy."

End

• mystery [´mistəri] n.神秘；秘密；故弄玄虚 (初中英语单词)
• valuable [´væljuəbəl, -jubəl] a.有价值的，贵重的 (初中英语单词)
• likewise [´laikwaiz] ad.同样地；也，又 (初中英语单词)
• delightful [di´laitful] a.讨人喜欢的 (初中英语单词)
• meantime [´mi:ntaim] n.&ad.其间；同时 (初中英语单词)
• feeble [´fi:bəl] a.虚弱的，无力的 (初中英语单词)
• expert [´ekspə:t] n.&a.专家；内行 (初中英语单词)
• hearty [´hɑ:ti] a.热忱的；强健的 (高中英语单词)
• superintendent [,su:pərin´tendənt, ,sju:-] n.管理人，负责人 (高中英语单词)