A
little later the old woman disappeared and all trace of her was lost.
As for Mr. Stockton, he soon was in his own apartments, where he
quickly removed the signs of his imprisonment. Then he told his story,
briefly, to Bert and his chums.
Muchmore, it appeared, had always been a bad character, but he had
told his uncle that he had reformed, and had begged his relative to
give him a home. No sooner was he installed in the mansion than he
began to scheme to get possession of it, and also what other property
Mr. Stockton had. To this end he secretly administered to his aged
relative a medicine which greatly weakened him. Then, when the old man
was not capable of defending himself, Muchmore had shut him up in an
unused part of the house. From then on the nephew's course became
bolder.
He began his wild, gambling life, introducing some of his cronies into
the mansion. He compelled Mrs. Blarcum to do as he wished by telling
her Mr. Stockton was crazy, and had to be kept a prisoner. Muchmore's
strange actions, when the young firemen were first at the house, was
due to his fear lest they discover that Mr. Stockton was a prisoner in
his own mansion.
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