WHAT JACK FOUND IN THE RAVINE
Jack Sheldon uttered a startled cry as he found himself darting through
space and then he struck on his back and went sliding down the bank
toward the creek below unable to stop himself.
Many thoughts passed rapidly through his mind as he went on down the
bank, narrowly missing great rocks, stumps of fallen trees and clumps of
thorn bushes, feeling no pain but wondering where he would land.
What occurred to him with the most startling distinctness, however, was
the fact that he had not lost his footing through his own carelessness
but that some one had pushed him from the bank.
Speculation as to who this person might be seemed absolutely useless for
he had not seen him and had not known of his presence until the very
instant before he had fallen.
What might eventually happen to him did not occupy his thoughts so much
as the identity of this person and it seemed as if he must have turned
this thought over in his mind a thousand times during his descent of the
bank.
His progress was so rapid that he could tell nothing of the objects he
passed nor how long he was in descending, the only thing that was
definite being the fact that the creek lay below and he might or might
not be thrown into it.
At last when it seemed as if he must have slid a thousand feet or more,
although it was much less than that distance, he was suddenly brought up
sharply by his feet striking a great mass of moss, decayed wood and rich
loam at the foot of a short stump almost on the brink of the roaring
creek tumbling over the rocks in its bed.
He was thrown half across this stump by the violence of the contact but
quickly realized that he was not hurt although nearly out of breath and
with a rapidly beating heart.
His coat was about his neck, he had no hat, his shoes were badly scraped
and his trousers had many holes in them but he was alive and evidently
not seriously bruised or scratched by his rapid slide over the rough
ground and coarse grass.
But for his having been stopped by the stump he would have gone into the
water which at this point was right up to the bank.
Standing up and arranging his clothing as much as was possible at the
moment, he took a deep breath or two and looked about him.
At a short distance there was a rude path along the water's edge wide
enough for him to make his way, here and there obstructed by stones or
bushes but wide enough for him to walk on.
There was clearly no use in trying to reach the top of the ravine by
climbing and he might by following the path come to the bridge over
which he and Dick had crossed two days before.
He had no idea how far it was to the station for he could see nothing
but the woods and the ravine and the brook and he set off, therefore,
with no idea how far he would have to go or what obstacles might be in
his way.
Walking on along the tumbling brook, now having to descend at a
considerable angle where the path was just wide enough for his feet, now
having to make his way through tangled bushes, now scrambling over rough
stones and occasionally being turned aside by great thickets of briar
but still keeping the water in sight he at length came to a point whence
he could see the bridge ahead of him.
He judged that he must have gone nearly half a mile although the
difficulties of the way made it seem like five.
The bridge was still some little distance away and the path was no less
easy for travel than at first although it was wider and evidently more
traversed as if used now and then by fishermen or picknickers.
Coming near the bridge he was looking for a good place to leave the path
and reach the road when he saw something half in the water and half on
the ground that at once arrested his attention.
It seemed to be a rubber bag and was evidently heavy by its looks, the
part on the ground being deep in the sand as if it had been thrown from
the bridge.
At once it dawned upon him that here was an important discovery.
"I wonder if that is not some of the plunder stolen from the bank or
from the station?" he thought to himself.
Some had advanced the theory that the robbers had not carried off all
that they had stolen, some had said that the men had gone across the
creek and then back and it at once occurred to Jack that they had not
gone to the bridge for nothing and that here was something that they had
gotten rid of at the time on account of the risk of being discovered
with it and for which they meant to return at some convenient time.
Making his way down the bank, which at this point was quite steep, the
boy rested on one knee, took hold of a stout sapling and tried to lift
the bag half out of water.
It was quite heavy, as he had supposed and considerable of a tug was
required to draw it out of the water and close to him.
This he accomplished, however, and then, using the sapling to aid him,
he drew the bag farther up on the bank and then to the top where he put
it down and started to open it.
There was a stout cord around the neck of the bag but this he loosened
with some little trouble on account of its having been swollen and made
tighter by the water.
Opening the bag he caught sight of a polished tin despatch or cash box,
a bundle of letters, a package of bills and a thick envelope which
probably contained postage stamps by its appearance.
Reaching in and taking out the cash box, the first thing that attracted
his attention were the letters on the cover.
"Hello! Riverton National Bank!" he exclaimed. "Then they did get
something from the bank after all. What is this? Bunch of registered
mail for the little post-office down here. Well, it was lucky I was
thrown down the bank after all."
Putting back the contents of the bag and securing it with the cord, Jack
now made his way toward the end of the bridge, looking up and down and
listening attentively.
"If I am seen with this in my possession some one will be sure to say
that I stole it and yet I must get it either to the station or up to the
Academy. It will be a considerable tug to get it up the hill and perhaps
I had better hide it till I can come after it with a car or a wagon.
That's the best thing to do."
He was looking for a place among the bushes or under the bridge to hide
the bag when he heard the sound of a car coming toward him and got
behind a tree so as not to be observed.
Then, peering out, he saw the car and recognized it as the little
runabout belonging to Dick and saw young Percival himself at the wheel.
"Hello, Dick, come here, I want to see you," he called, stepping out
and beginning to climb the bank.
"Hello! That's you, is it? And all right, of course? I was very much
afraid that I would have----"
"To do what?" for Percival suddenly stopped.
"To carry your remains back to the Academy. They told me you had fallen
down the bank and I scarcely expected to see you alive again. As quick
as I could I got out the car and came down here to look for you."
"They told you that I had fallen down the bank?" asked Jack, in the
greatest excitement.
"Yes, and you look it all right."
"Who told you that, Dick?"
"Pete Herring and Ernest Merritt. They said they had seen you fall and
had tried to warn you but were too late."
"Where did you see them?"
"In the woods. I was going there to meet you as I had promised."
"How long before had it happened, did they tell you? Did you meet them
in the woods?"
"Yes, and very soon after you fell, probably. I heard a scream and
hurried on. Then I met them and they told me what had happened."
"Yes, but not how it happened. Dick, I was thrown down the bank. It was
not an accident at all, it was a deliberate----"
"Do you know which of the two did it?" gasped Dick.
"No, but I am satisfied that one of them did it. However, never mind
that now. Come here. I want to show you something."
Dick got out of his car and followed Jack.
The boy led his friend to where he had deposited the bag, uncovered it
by throwing off the leaves he had thrown over it and said:
"That's what I found down here, a few paces away. What do you suppose is
in it?"
"I have not the least idea. What is?"
"A cash box from the Riverton bank, a packet of registered letters for
our office, some stamps, money and other things."
"And you found it here?"
"Yes, half on the bank and half in the water."
"How did it get there?"
"Thrown from the bridge by the robbers. They did not want to be found
with it on them I suppose. Probably they meant to return for it at some
convenient time."
"You have examined the contents?"
"Not all of them."
"What shall we do with it, Jack?"
"Take it up to the doctor. Later we can take it to the bank. I don't
want to go there now, looking as I do."
"Well, you don't look just the thing to call on a bank president,"
laughed Dick, "but I am glad you are alive. Are you hurt any? No bones
broken, no internal injuries, nothing the matter with you?"
"I don't think there is, Dick. I do feel a bit sore and bruised but I
don't think there is anything serious the matter. A good hot bath will
fix me up all right, I think."
"Come on then and get that bag up to the Academy. Here, don't you lift
it. I can do it better. Can you run the car up, do you think?"
"Yes. Did you raise an alarm about my having fallen down the bank?"
"No. Herring said he would speak to the doctor. I came right away."
"All right. Let them think for the present that I did fall down."
"Very good, but as soon as I am certain which one of those fellows it
was that pushed you down I will make it warm for him."
"I don't believe you ever will know, Dick."