THE MYSTERY OF THE LEATHER BAG
After reading the doctor's note, Hal picked up the lantern and swung it
around so as to get a wider view of the cave. He was able to see the
wall at the other edge of the cataract, but was not sure of the depth of
the cavern.
Then he set the lantern down again and searched his pockets until he
found a piece of white paper and a pencil. For a few moments he cast
about him for a hard, smooth surface on which to lay the paper, but the
best he could find was the plain flat handle of his pocketknife. With
this on his knee and bending close to the light of the lantern, Hal
laboriously inscribed the following:
"I'm all right till morning. I'm going to explore the cave."
He tied this note to the rake and reached it back to Pepper. Then he
waited for the answer he saw the doctor preparing. It came presently and
was as follows:
"Be careful and don't fall into another trap. We're going back to the
other side. Maybe we'll try to get you before morning."
Hal saw the two men depart and then turned his attention to the dark
depths of the cavern.
The floor was smooth, though irregular. The mouth opening upon the
waterfall was about ten feet wide, but the passage narrowed somewhat
further in. Here it made a sharp turn to the right, and Hal followed the
passage a hundred feet, when he was stopped by a wall of earth and
rocks. There was no further exploration to make, for this was the end of
the cave.
Hal flashed his lantern all around and above, but could find nothing
more of particular interest, except the general formation of the cave.
He was not certain that he could see the ceiling. At one place
particularly there seemed to be a black void above.
The right wall of this part of the cave slanted upward like the side of
a steep hill. Moreover, this side was jagged and irregular, so that Hal
was certain he could climb up some distance. The other side hung over
like a huge cliff, slanting at the same angle.
"This looks like a big crevice in the rocks," mused the boy as he gazed
up and around him. "I wish some more of the boys were here with
lanterns. I'd like to hunt till I found something worth coming here for.
It looks like a shame to have such an adventure as this and find
nothing.
"Oh, yes," he suddenly remembered; "there's the bag of souvenirs. I
haven't examined them yet. I'll go back and see what they are."
So he turned to the mouth of the cave and set the lantern down on the
floor, while he stooped over and untied the string around the opening of
the leather bag. Pulling it apart, Hal was soon fingering a curious
collection of many sorts of stones and quartz, some of which shone
brilliantly in the light of the lantern.
"My! they look as if they might be worth a fortune," exclaimed the boy
as he picked up one after another and examined them eagerly, "for Mr.
Miles said he wouldn't take a thousand dollars for them."
As he had nothing else to do, Hal continued to examine the curios for
some time, becoming more and more impressed with their novelty. Some of
them evidently had been altered in shape by the hand of man,
particularly a few that looked like Indian amulets, and Hal was
convinced that the collector had visited some deserted pueblos or cliff
houses.
"Dr. Byrd said Mr. Miles had spent some time in the mountains," he
mused: "and I bet he can tell some interesting stories of the places
he's been in. When he gets well enough to be around, I'm going to ask
him to tell us all about his adventures. He must have had some with that
airship in the mountains."
Hal's meditations and his interest in the contents of the leather bag
were interrupted finally by the reappearance of lights approaching along
the river bank. He drew the string tight around the receptacle and tied
it. Then he awaited the approach of his rescuers.
As they came near, he saw that they were bearing two wide planks, one
man at either end of each, the leaders carrying the lanterns. Evidently
they had decided not to wait until morning before attempting to release
the boy from his strange prison.
Finally they reached the flat rock near the waterfall and the two planks
were laid across the intervening space between the shore and the cave.
Hal adjusted his end of the planks so that they rested firmly; then he
picked up the leather bag and his lantern and walked across the bridge.
Without further delay, they turned and walked down the stream again. No
attempt was made to discuss the affair until they had forded the river
and returned to the stage road near which the automobile had been left.
Hal was then the first to speak.
"Where's Frank?" he inquired.
"We took him back to the school and put him in bed," replied Mr.
Frankland. "Evidently you could see and recognize him from behind the
waterfall."
"Yes," answered the boy. Then he continued: "It wasn't his fault that I
was trapped behind the fall. It was all an accident. He slipped and hit
the board with his foot."
Hal's companions were amused at this unconscious charity toward Frank.
If there had been light enough they probably would have winked at each
other. In his fear of the gallows, the former youthful terrorizer had
confessed just how he happened to kick the plank into the waterfall and,
as he thought, dropped Hal to a fearful fate.
With little delay, except to crank the machine, they all got into the
automobile and soon were bowling along the stage road. As they were
leaving the cañon, Dr. Byrd inquired:
"What kind of place is that cave, Hal?"
The boy gave a brief description of it; then he added:
"It's a dandy. It isn't so awfully big, but it's big enough; and it's so
different from most caves."
"You didn't find any rubies or garnets or streaks of gold there, did
you?" inquired Mr. Frankland, nudging the boy, who sat beside him in the
back seat.
"No, but there might be something of the kind. I wish we could go back
with lots of lanterns and examine the place carefully."
"I think we'll forget all about that cave for a while at least,"
announced the doctor with an air of decision. "It came near proving a
fatal discovery, and I feel like waiting until I've had time to get over
this scare."
Hal had offered his suggestion rather doubtfully, for he felt that a
scolding was due him and Frank for their boldness in crossing the river
and continuing their search along the steep shore on the west side.
However, the adventure had proved successful, for the lost bag of
specimens had been found; so the boy did not feel nearly so much like a
culprit as he would have felt in the face of failure.
But the doctor said nothing more that might sound like criticism. He was
too thankful for the discovery and rescue of the lost boy for that.
Presently the talk was changed to the bag of specimens. Naturally much
wonder was felt because of the place where it had been found. Hal
explained his theory that in falling from the aeroplane it had struck a
slanting projection of rock and bounded into the cave.
"Of course that's barely possible," said Dr. Byrd; "but it's hardly
probable. I can't get away from the belief that the bag did not break
loose in the air."
"You think it fell to the ground with the aeroplane?" Hal inquired.
"Yes. Why not? I can't conceive what force could have broken or pulled
it loose before the machine hit the ground. Did it just happen to come
untied from the strut at that time? Barely possible."
"How did it get into the cave then?" asked Mr. Porter.
"Somebody put it there if it didn't fall there," volunteered Pepper.
"Of course," said the doctor.
"Somebody _might_ have put it in the cave," agreed Hal reflectively. "We
weren't the first ones to discover the place."
"How do you know?" inquired Dr. Byrd quickly.
"By the plank we found in the bushes. It was there for a bridge, that
was plain. Somebody's been using the cave for something."
Exclamations of surprise greeted this information.
"Did you find anything in the cave that tended to prove your suspicion?"
asked Mr. Frankland.
"Nothing except the leather bag."
Hal hoped that his suggestions would arouse the interest of Dr. Byrd to
such an extent that he would decide upon further investigation, but he
was disappointed. If the owner of Lakefarm felt any such desire, he
failed to express it.
On their arrival at the school, the automobile was run into the garage,
and then a general move was made for their bedrooms. While the doctor
explained matters to his wife, Hal and the two instructors had gone to
bed.
The noise Hal made in entering the dormitory and walking along the hall
awakened Bun Bowler, who was sleeping with his brother Frank. Eagerly
Bun slipped out of bed and peeped through the slightly opened doorway.
"Oh, they've brought Hal back," he said to himself. "I wonder where they
found him."
Had it been Frank he would have yelled out a congratulation, in spite of
the lateness of the hour and the rule requiring quiet in the dormitory,
but Byron crept quietly back into the bed. As he crawled over his
brother--Frank always insisted on sleeping in front--the latter gave a
start and a jerk and cried in a voice of terror:
"I won't do it any more! I won't do it any more! I won't threaten to
clout anybody in the jaw--never, never again!"