BOB AND JACK THINK THEY HAVE A CLUE.
The First National Bank of Skowhegan, of which Mr. Golden was
president, is situated on Water street. Behind it runs the Kennebec
river through a rock gorge, nearly fifty feet deep. At the time of our
story, the bank building was new, having been built only the year
before. It was thoroughly modern in every respect, and contained what
was supposed to be a burglar-proof vault.
The boys soon distanced the car and in exactly eleven minutes from the
time they started were in front of the bank. They found a crowd of
several hundred people collected in the street, for such a thing as a
bank robbery in Skowhegan had never been known, and there was great
excitement. Hurriedly, they pushed the wheels into a livery stable
nearby, which was run by a friend of theirs, and then pushing their
way through the crowd, managed to reach the sidewalk, in front of the
bank, but here the people were so closely packed, that they were
forced to stop.
"Guess we'll have to wait for dad," panted Jack, after a vigorous
shove had failed to make an opening.
"Gee, but this is worse than a football game," declared Bob, "but
here's dad now," as a big policeman pushed his way through the crowd
shouting:
"Stand back now and let Mr. Golden through."
The mass of people slowly gave way, and Mr. Golden, followed closely
by Bob and Jack, who had grabbed hold of his coat tails as he pushed
his way past, finally succeeded in reaching the steps of the bank. The
door was at once opened by Mr. Riggs, the old cashier, and Mr. Golden
and Uncle Ben, who was with them, entered closely followed by the two
boys.
"Oh, to think that I should live to see this day!" moaned the cashier,
as he closed and locked the door behind them.
"How did they get in?" was Mr. Golden's first question.
The cashier pointed to the door and a glance was sufficient to
disclose the means of entrance. Two doors, separated by a small
vestibule, led into the bank. The outer door was fitted with a heavy
plate glass window, but the inner one was of solid oak. This had been
cut through by means of a bit, and a hole about twenty inches in
diameter sawed out. A similar opening had been made in the glass of
the outer door, a circular piece having been cut out, evidently with a
diamond, and then, cemented back in again so cleverly, that it was not
noticeable except on close inspection.
Going to the vault at the rear of the bank, they found an irregular
hole, nearly sixteen inches in diameter, through the solid steel door.
The edges of this hole had a fused appearance, and Mr. Golden at once
said:
"Undoubtedly the work of experts, and they must have used an
oxy-acteylene blowpipe flame to cut through that door."
Bob had been doing some pretty deep thinking, and now he caught hold
of his father's sleeve and said:
"Of course, I may be a way off, but I believe that those fellows who
kidnapped me are the ones who did this job."
"I think so, too," broke in Jack, "We know that they are criminals and
what were they doing round here if they weren't up to some such job?
You see," he continued, as his father was about to speak, "they didn't
come here after those cells, because they didn't know anything about
them till they saw the boat the day of the race. I believe they
intended to rob the bank in the first place and then they saw our boat
and thought that if they could get hold of our secret, it would pay
them better than this job. That's the way I've got it doped out."
"And I believe Jack's right, dad," broke in Bob. "Something I heard
that man Reed say just after they got me in the car that night has
just come to me. I didn't think much of it at the time; it has never
occurred to me till just now."
"What was it?" eagerly asked Mr. Golden.
"Why, we had gone but a little ways when I heard Reed say, in a low
voice. 'How about that other job, Bill?' and King replied angrily,
'Shut up, you fool!' Then as Reed started to say something, he
whispered, 'That can wait awhile; it won't spoil.'"
"I really believe the boys are right," declared Uncle Ben. "There is
little doubt in my mind that when you get those two men you will have
the robbers of this bank."
"I'll tell you what," broke in Bob, "if those two fellows did it, I'll
bet a cent they'll go straight to the place where they took me, that
we found yesterday. You see they think no one knows about it and that
they will be safe there."
"Then we'd better get some officers and get after them as quickly as
possible," declared Uncle Ben.
"I guess we might as well try it," assented Mr. Golden, "seeing it's
the only clue we have. Mr. Riggs, see if Mr. Switzer is out there and
if he is, have him come in, will you?"
The cashier disappeared, but was back almost immediately, followed by
a powerfully built man about forty years old, the chief of police of
Skowhegan.
"Hello, Switzer, glad you were at hand," cried Mr. Golden.
"Just got here," panted the officer, who appeared nearly out of
breath. "I went over to Smithfield fishing early this morning and
didn't know about it till I got there, and then I hustled back as fast
as I could."
It may be well to explain here, that Skowhegan does not have a regular
police force who give all their time to it. Mr. Switzer, besides being
chief, was a butcher, and the rest of the force, consisting of five
men, held different positions in the town.
Mr. Golden quickly pointed out what has been described, and then told
him of Bob's suspicion.
"Just the thing to do," he declared. "George and Fred are outside and
I'll get them and we'll start at once."
"We'll go in my car," said Mr. Golden. "I guess it's as fast as any in
town, and will carry six of us all right, and the boys can go on their
wheels, can't you, Bob?"
"Sure thing," the both replied.
"All right then, that's settled. Now let's get off as soon as
possible. My car is right over there on the corner."
They went out and Mr. Golden and Uncle Ben at once made their way to
the car, while Mr. Switzer searched through the crowd for his
officers. Bob and Jack hurried to where they had left their wheels and
were back at the corner in almost no time, where they were soon joined
by the three officers.
"Now, where to?" asked the chief, as he took his seat by the driver.
"Norridgewock first," answered Bob, as he jumped into his saddle, and
he added, as he turned on the power, "here's where we break all the
speed laws ever made."
"You boys keep within sight of us," shouted Mr. Golden, as they dashed
across the bridge.
In spite of the bad road, they reached Norridgewock in nineteen
minutes. On the way, Mr. Golden told Uncle Ben and the officers that
Riggs had said that nearly one hundred thousand dollars in cash and
negotiable securities had been taken.
They made no stop at Norridgewock, but at once took the road leading
to Oakland. Here the going was much better and in a little less than
half an hour after leaving Norridgewock, they were within a mile of
the woods road, which led to the big house. The boys were about a
quarter of a mile ahead of the car and stopped here to wait for the
rest of the party.
"Are we 'most there?" asked Mr. Golden, as the car came up to them and
stopped.
"Yes, it's only about a mile from here, and I thought we'd better stop
before we got any nearer, and make our plans," explained Bob.
"My idea," said Mr. Switzer, "is to leave the car by the side of the
main road and go the rest of the way on foot. You see," he explained,
"if we took it too close they would hear it and skip, that is,
providing they're there."
All agreed that this was the best plan.
"Now, Bob," asked the chief, "how far from the main road is that
house?"
"I should say a little more than a quarter of a mile."
"And how large is the clearing round it?"
"At the back the trees grow up close to the house, but in front there
is a clearing of perhaps half an acre."
"Then, three of us had better get round to the back of the house,
while the rest approach it from the front. George, you and Bob and Mr.
Golden," indicating Uncle Ben, "can circle round and get behind. The
rest of us will give you plenty of time to get there and then we'll go
up to the house and demand admittance."
To this plan all agreed, and they started again, the boys keeping just
in front of the car. They had gone about a mile, when Bob held up his
hand for them to stop.
"See that big elm just ahead there?" he asked, pointing with his
finger. "Well, the road is about ten feet the other side of that
tree."
But just then something happened which caused a complete change in
their plans.