place is?" he went on, turning to the coach driver.
"Yes."
"Then drive us to that place."
Again the coach went on. Dr. Karley's Private Sanitarium was on the outskirts of Cleveland, and it took half an hour to reach it. It was an old-fashioned building surrounded by a high board fence. Entering the grounds, Arnold Baxter ascended the piazza and rang the bell.
A negro answered the summons, and ushered him into a dingy parlor. Soon Dr. Karley, a dried-up, bald-headed, old man appeared.
"And what can I do for you, sir?" he asked, in a squeaky voice.
"Just the man I wanted to meet," thought Arnold Baxter.
He was a good reader of character, and saw that Dr. Karley would do almost anything for money. The doctor's sanitarium was of a "shady" character. Among the inmates were two old men, put there by their relatives merely to get them out of the way, and an old lady who was said to be crazy by those who wished to get possession of her money.
"I have a peculiar case on hand, doctor," said Arnold Baxter, after introducing himself as Mr. Arnold. "A young friend of mine has been almost drowned in the lake. I would like you to take charge of him for a day or two."
"Well, I — er — "
"I will pay you well for your services," went on Arnold Baxter.
"You have him with you?"
"Yes, in a coach outside. He was found drifting on a log and almost out of his head on account of exposure to the water and the hot sun. I think a few days of rest and medical attention will bring him around all right."
The little old doctor bobbed his head. "I will go out and see him," he said.
Quarter of an hour later found Dick in an upper room of the sanitarium, lying on a comfortable bed, and with Dr. Karley caring for him.
In the meantime Arnold Baxter had gone out and paid the coach driver.
"Do you generally stand down by the docks?" he asked.
"No, sir; my stand is uptown," was the reply. "I had just brought down a passenger when you hailed me. But I can go down for you, if you wish."
"It will not be necessary. The doctor has a carriage, and I will hire that later on, when I see how the patient is making out."
"All right, sir; then I'm off."
As the coach passed out of sight Arnold Baxter chuckled to himself.
"I reckon that was well done," he muttered. "I don't believe the Rovers will find their brother very soon, if they ever find him!"
CHAPTER V
THE SAILING OF THE "PEACOCK"
"Oh, my, what a bad dream I have had!"
Such were the words which Dick uttered to himself when he came once again to the full possession of his senses.
He gazed around him curiously. He was in a plainly furnished room, lying on the top of a bed covered with a rubber blanket, so that his wet clothing might not soil the linen beneath. His coat and shoes had been removed, likewise his collar and tie, but that was all.
The shades of the two windows of the apartment were tightly drawn and a lamp on the table lit up the room but dimly, for it was now night. No one was present but the sufferer.
"Well, one thing is certain, I didn't drown, after all," he went on. Then he tried to sit up, but fell back exhausted.
He wondered where he was, and if Tom and Sam were near, and while he was wondering he fell into a light sleep which did a great deal toward restoring him to himself.
When Dick awoke he found Dr. Karley at hand, ready to give him some nourishing food. The doctor had just come from a long talk with Arnold Baxter, and it may as well be stated that the two men understood each other pretty thoroughly.
"Where am I?" he asked, in a fairly strong voice.
"Safe," said the old doctor soothingly. "Here, take this. It will do you a whole lot of good."
"Are my brothers around?"
"We'll talk later, after you are stronger."
The old doctor would say no more. Dick took the medicine offered, and did really feel stronger. Then a light breakfast was brought in, of which he partook readily. The food gone, the doctor disappeared, locking the door after him, but so softly that Dick was not aware of the fact until some time later.
While Dick was trying to get back his strength the Baxters were not idle.
Arnold Baxter had on his person all the money he possessed, a little over three thousand dollars. This had been saved from the wreck of his expedition to the West, and he was now resolved to spend every dollar of it, if necessary, in bringing the Rovers to terms, as he put it.
"I was going to New York State to get the youngest Rover boy in my power," he said to Dan, "but fate has thrown Dick in our path, and so we will take him instead. Once he is absolutely in our power, I am sure I can bring Anderson Rover to terms and make him turn the entire right to that Eclipse mine over to my representatives."
"It's a ticklish job," replied the son. "What of this doctor here? Won't he suspect anything?"
"I reckon the doctor is no better than he ought to be, Dan. I think I see my way clear to doing as I please with him. A couple of hundred dollars will go a long way with fellows of his stripe."
A conversation lasting half an hour followed, and Dan promised to keep close watch while his father went away to the docks.
Arnold Baxter was absent the best part of the morning, but came home with a face which showed he was well satisfied with what he had accomplished.
"I fell in luck," he explained. "Ran across a man I used to know years ago — Gus Langless — a sly old dog, up for anything with money in it. Langless owns a small schooner, the Peacock, and he says I can have her for a month, with the services of himself and his crew, for one thousand dollars — and nothing said about the job."
"Did you accept, dad?"
"Certainly it was just what I wanted. Langless is all right, and I told him I would double his money if he would stick by me to the finish, and he swore that he would."
"And what is the next move?"
"We'll take Rover on board to-night, and then set sail direct for Detroit and Lake Huron. Langless knows an island in Lake Huron which will give us just the hiding place we want."
"And after that?"
"I'll send a letter to Anderson Rover which will sicken him to the heart and make him do just as I demand. He thinks the world of his oldest son."
"Good
