CLEARING HAL
With nervous haste, Dr. Byrd took a piece of folded paper from the
envelope and examined it. The letter was short and had to do with a
purchase from a mail order house. It was addressed to Rodney Maxwell,
Boulder, Colorado, care of the Miners & Merchants' Bank.
"So that's where he was," the doctor muttered, half to himself. "The
last I heard of him he was in Denver."
Coroner Huffman, meanwhile, was examining the other envelopes. Suddenly,
he looked up at the doctor and said:
"I think I can give you some interesting information. This Miners &
Merchants' Bank was robbed two or three months ago and the police are
looking for this fellow Maxwell. He was a teller there, I believe."
"You don't say!" exclaimed the owner of Lakefarm. "It's singular that I
didn't see it in the papers."
"The story was printed all right. You probably read only the headlines
and missed his name. You don't read the newspapers the way we
politicians do. Maxwell got away with thirty thousand dollars."
"I bet the money's in the cave," Hal ventured eagerly.
It was a natural suspicion, and they hastened the search through the
pockets of the dead man's clothing. But nothing more was discovered and
the party returned into the cave.
"Let's take everything outside and continue our examination in the
sunlight," the doctor proposed.
"Good suggestion," said the coroner, picking up the box and starting for
the entrance.
Dr. Byrd rolled up several blankets, tucked them under his arm and
followed Mr. Huffman. The lifting of one of the blankets disclosed
several cooking utensils, a bag of salt and half a dozen empty fruit
cans. All these and other articles the boys picked up and carried
outside beyond the western end of the passage and placed them on the
ground.
First, the contents of the box were examined, and they proved to be of
great interest. On top were two books, then several newspapers and
magazines. Next appeared several boxes of matches, two or three hundred
cartridges, also in boxes, some collars, neckties and handkerchiefs; two
shirts, and finally a small satchel, packed full and heavy.
Eagerly the coroner seized the latter and attempted to open it. But the
clasp resisted his efforts. It was locked.
Remembering a bunch of keys he had found in one of Maxwell's pockets,
the coroner produced it and tried several in the lock. The fourth fitted
and turned easily, and the satchel fell open.
Exclamations of eagerness and satisfaction burst from the lips of the
onlookers. The object of their search was found. The little valise was
full of paper money, assorted in denominations and done up in small
packages with strips of paper pinned around them.
On each binding strip was written with pencil some figures representing
the amount contained in the package. These made the counting of the
money easy. In the bottom of the satchel was more than a thousand
dollars in gold coins, the counting of which required more time than the
totaling of all the assorted certificates and notes. The coroner made an
itemized list of these packages and coins according to denominations and
amounts. On footing them, he found that the total was $30,380.
The official now drew up a certificate of their discovery at the foot of
the itemized list, and, at his request, they all signed it. Then he
packed the money back in the valise, with the statement and certificate
on top, and snapped the latch and locked it.
"There, that's all done," Mr. Huffman announced. "What else have we
here?"
Boys and men now began to overhaul the other personal effects of the
slain robber. They shook out the blankets, inspected the empty fruit
cans, looked into the cooking utensils and pushed their hands or fingers
into the pockets of the two extra suits of clothing. In one of these
pockets, Dr. Byrd found a small metal box about twice the thickness of
an ordinary pocket match-safe.
With more curiosity than eagerness, he attempted to open the box, but it
resisted his efforts.
Mr. Huffman, observing what he had found, held out his hand saying:
"Let me try it. I've had a good deal of experience breaking secrets."
Dr. Byrd gave him the box, and the coroner turned it over several times
in an effort to find a clasp or catch. Presently he discovered a tiny
button at one end and pressed on it with his thumb nail, but with no
result. After considerable manipulation he finally solved the secret by
pressing both sides with thumb and fingers of one hand while he "picked"
the button with the other thumb nail.
Now was the time for a few more gasps of surprise. And they came. Dr.
Byrd's right hand shot forward like a "Jack-in-the-box" let loose, to
seize the object of interest. The coroner, however, held on with both
hands to prevent the eager doctor from spilling the sparkling contents.
"Those are mine!" exclaimed the Lakefarm owner. "Those are the rubies
and diamonds Maxwell stole from my collection over two years ago."
"Whew!" exploded Mr. Huffman. "This sure is a day of discoveries."
"It's a week of discoveries, it's a month of discoveries, it's a whole
summer of discoveries for Lakefarm and Mummy Cañon," declared Dr. Byrd
with excusable excitement. "I tell you, this has been a history making
season for Colorado and even the United States. Think of what has
happened here this summer! Why it's simply stupendous. When this cañon
becomes a popular summer resort it will have a most interesting history
for advertising purposes."
"Yes, you're right," agreed Mr. Huffman. "And these runaway boys have
done about all of it, haven't they?" he added with a mischievous look at
the five young Scouts standing around and eagerly listening to the
conversation.
"Well, I don't know but you're right," admitted the doctor slowly.
"Kenyon discovered the cave behind the waterfall, and all of them took a
part in the discoveries that followed. In fact, I think every one of
their names should be given to some point or feature of interest on this
mountain."
"Let's call the cave behind the waterfall Kenyon Cave," proposed Byron.
"That's a bright idea," declared the doctor.
"It sounds well. What shall we call the waterfall itself?"
"The Screaming Cataract," Frank proposed with a little reminiscent
shudder and a grin.
"Good again!" Dr. Byrd exclaimed.
"And that cliff where we stood when we shot the arrows into the
cañon--let's call that Whistling Arrow Point," suggested Ferdinand.
"Keep it up, boys, and you'll soon have everything well named," said the
coroner with appreciative cheeriness.
Just then all were startled by an interruption from Mr. Miles who had
been busy while the others were exclaiming over the discovery of the
money and the gems. In one hand he held a coat and in the other several
objects the size of small potatoes which he had drawn from one of the
pockets. The objects were of a soiled yellow.
"I've found my nuggets! I've found my nuggets!" cried the aviator
gleefully. "Hal, you're fully exonerated now, and the mystery of the bag
of specimens in the cave is solved. Maxwell found them in the cañon,
took them behind the waterfall, picked out the nuggets, left the bag in
the cave and accidentally dropped one of the lumps of gold!"
Before the excitement of this discovery was over, another thriller was
added to the rapid succession of events. Suddenly from the very cave in
which they had seen the mountain lion on the day before, issued a dark
object, which bounded down an incline of stones and earth and sped with
swift leaps past the aeroplane and off toward the edge of the
mountain-top plateau.