What Alex really wanted to say was: “Not until you tell us whether our
money is safe.” But he restrained his tongue and rattled the contents of
the bag alluringly.
“That’s a funny thing to keep in a coffee-pot,” Jule exclaimed. “What
did you make the coffee in to-night? What is in the bag?”
“Tell us!” insisted Clay.
“Well, after I saw you coming, down by the warehouse, you know,” began
the boy, nodding at Clay and dropping into a chair, “I went on down to
Madison street and got to Doctor Holcomb’s office without getting wet at
all. The oilskins he sent me did the business—kept me dry as tinder in
all that rain.”
“So he sent for you, did he, and supplied the oilskins?”
It was Clay who asked the question. There was hope in the lad’s breast
now, for Jule would not be apt to go so far away without taking some
precautions regarding the money.
“Oh, I told you all about that,” Jule went on, impatiently, as if
reciting something already well known. “I remained here until I saw you
coming, over there by the warehouse,” the boy continued, turning to
Clay, “then I went out to meet you, so as to tell about my going away to
see Dr. Holcomb. When I got to the end of the wharf you were not there,
but in a moment I saw you at the corner of the building, and called out
to you to watch the boat while I went to see the doctor.”
“Did you wait until I got into the cabin?” asked Clay, turning away so
that the astonishment in his face might not be seen.
“Oh, yes, I made sure you were in the cabin before I went away,” was the
disheartening reply. “I wasn’t going to leave the boat, not with all our
money in it, alone for a minute,” he went on.
Case opened his lips to speak, but Clay gave his arm such a pinch of
warning that he immediately closed them again without speaking a word of
the hot sentence that was in his mind. The blow had fallen. There was
nothing more to say!
Jule had mistaken some thief for Clay, had left the boat in his care,
and the money had been stolen! There was nothing more to do except never
to let the boy know what the mistake had cost—and to go about earning
more!
The three boys took the matter calmly. Up to this minute they had all
hoped and half believed that Jule had either taken the money away with
him or hidden it in another spot. Now the last hope was gone. They
gathered about the table, glad of something to engage their thoughts,
exhibited the diamonds, and told how they came to be in their
possession. Jule was enthusiastic over the find, as he called it.
“And now,” Clay said, after the story had been told and the boys had
expressed various opinions as to the ownership of the stones, “we may as
well hide the diamonds away and make more coffee. Where shall I put
them?”
“Why, with the money, of course!” exclaimed Jule.
“Not if you——”
Alex stepped on Case’s toe and the remark was never completed.
“All right,” Clay grinned, “I’ll put them in the square box with the red
cover, and put that into the round box. That is where the money was put,
eh, Jule? You handled it last.”
“That’s where you’ll find it!” the boy answered, and again the three
turned away their faces.
Clay put the diamonds in the box and laid it away. Then more coffee was
made, and rolls and sausages brought out, and all four fell to with keen
appetites, Alex explaining that the previous meal that night had not
been satisfying because of the absence of Jule, and because of the
excitement of the policeman’s visit and the arrest of the stranger.
There was no doubt in the minds of the three now that the boy who had
been arrested had been the one Jule had seen by the warehouse, the one
who had been seen to enter the cabin, the one who had taken the money!
The one thing in opposition to this theory was the fact that the boy had
returned to the vicinity of the boat after taking the money—if, indeed,
he had not remained about the warehouse during all the time which had
intervened between the taking of the money and the arrival of the
officer. Then, too, he had voluntarily entered the cabin, to escape from
the officer. That did not look like the act of a guilty person.
“Who do you think this strange boy is?” asked Jule, at the conclusion of
the story. “I like the way he spoke up to the policeman and said he had
lied about belonging here. It is a sure thing he’s honest, and never
stole the diamonds. What do you think?” he demanded, turning to his
chums.
“He may be honest,” Clay answered.
“He’s a thief!” Case thundered.
“He’s all right!” insisted Alex.
“Anyway,” Jule continued, with a grin at the diverse opinions of the
stranger so expressed, “it is certain he saw Clay pick up the brown
leather bag, and the chances are that he knew where the stones were when
the policeman took him away. You say someone looked in at the window.
Well, that was this lad, and he saw the diamonds on the table, and saw
you put them in the coffee-pot. If he’s honest he’ll wait until he finds
the owner of the diamonds, and then tell him where they are. If he is a
crook he’ll tell the police about seeing them here and get us all into
trouble.”
“They were here when he was arrested,” Alex urged, “and he never said a
word about them. If he knew about them, he would have told the officer,
wouldn’t he? I don’t believe he knows anything about the diamonds or the
mo——”
Clay gave the boy’s leg a pinch under the table.
“Or the manner in which they came here,” Alex concluded, trying to
change “money” into “manner” and not succeeding very well.
While the boys talked, they were preparing their beds for the night
There were two of these, And they were almost like hammocks let down
from the low ceiling, being attached to strong rods by chains. When
drawn up the bottoms of the beds looked exactly like the ceiling; when
let down strong springs and soft mattresses were disclosed.
Case had already climbed into the one he occupied with Clay when a timid
knock came on the door.
“Reception night!” gasped Alex.
“Perhaps it is the policeman come back after the diamonds,” suggested
Case. “That little thief has told about seeing them here, and we’re all
to be arrested!”
“Imagine one notch farther, and get us hanged for murdering the owner of
the diamonds!” scorned Alex. “You certainly do let out the rankest
prophecies! Shall I open the door, fellows?”
There was another knock, and the boy did not wait for an answer, but
turned the key and threw the door half open. Then he dodged back, and
the slender, black-eyed lad who had been taken away by the policeman
entered the cabin. It was still raining, and his garments contributed
tiny lakes and rivers to the damp spots already on the floor. He stood
silent a moment, fumbling with his cap, wringing wet, and then found his
voice.
“I thought,” he began.
He stopped and looked toward the coffee-pot, still steaming. Alex lifted
it and poured out a cup of strong coffee, which, together with a plate
of cold beans and a loaf of bread, he set before the wet boy.
“I guess you’re hungry,” he said, unconcernedly.
The stranger fell to, but there was a look of amazement in his face
which no one there failed to observe. Case thought the look meant that
he was astonished to find that the diamonds were not in the pot. Clay
believed that the lad was upset by the courteous treatment he was
receiving. Alex understood that it was because of Jule’s presence that
the boy was so all at sea, mentally.
All the lads saw in the return of the boy some faint chance to solve the
mystery of the loss of the money. “Perhaps,” hopeful Alex thought, “he
has repented and brought the money back with him.” Clay watched the boy
for a moment and said, tentatively:
“They didn’t keep you at the station very long?” “No,” was the confused
reply. “I proved my innocence and they let me go. I came back here to
let you know.”
“Why have you been hanging around the boat?” asked Case, leaning over
the side of his bed. “You were out there by the warehouse a long time
to-night, and someone from the boat called out to you.”
Jule looked up suspiciously, but Case went on:
“Then you came into the cabin.”
The stranger shook his head.
“You are mistaken,” he insisted.
“Let him alone!” Alex ordered. “Give him a chance to eat his supper,
can’t you. What’s your name, kid?” he continued, forgetful of his own
suggestion that the stranger be permitted to eat in peace.
“Frank Porter,” was the quick reply. “I was born near the headwaters of
the Amazon, in Peru. I came to Chicago to attend to some business, and
haven’t been able to get back.”
The four opened their eyes in wonder. Here was a boy who had lived in
the country they had planned to visit, and who knew all about the river
they were so anxious to explore.
“Go on!” Clay said, eagerly.
“I heard that you boys were going to the foothills of the Andes,” Frank
went on, “and I thought you might let me go with you, only I could never
find the courage to come and ask you about it?”
“And that is what you’ve been hanging around here for?” asked Case.
“Yes, sir.”
“Well,” Case continued, brutally, “it costs money to run this boat. Can
you pay your share of the expense?”
“I haven’t any money.” was the dejected reply.
“You speak English pretty handily for a native of Peru!” Case taunted,
while Alex frowned at the impudence of the suggestion.
“My father was a Chicago man, and my mother was a native of New
Orleans,” was the straight-forward answer. “I know English and Spanish
and a lot of Amazon valley dialects. I may be able to make myself useful
on the journey. You’ll need a guide,” he added, hopefully.
Neither of the three dared hint, in the presence of Jule, how far away
that journey now was! And Jule did not know!
“All right,” Alex agreed, putting off the evil time when Jule would have
to know, “you can go, and we’ll let you stay here with us until we
start. We’ll need you. Isn’t that right, boys?”
They all declared that it was entirely right, but Case’s acquiescence
seemed a little forced, though the boy’s stay with them seemed to be
only for that night. Nothing whatever was said about the diamonds, and
Case took the precaution of putting them inside his pillow-slip before
he went to sleep. It was daylight before the boys awoke, for the evening
had been an exciting one, and they had had much to think over before
they could sleep.
Clay rolled out of bed and turned the electric switch, for it was still
dark in the cabin. The first thing that met his eyes was the rude bed on
the floor which had been made up for Frank Porter. It was empty, and the
cabin door was ajar. The boy had gone without a word of good-bye! Then
Clay saw something else. It was a copy of an evening newspaper, open at
the “lost and found” page. He read the paragraph to which a pencil-made
hand pointed, and set up a great shout.
“Boys!” he cried. “Wake up and hear the blessed news! There’s a reward
of $500 offered for the return of the diamonds, and no questions asked.
We’ll go in style, go to-day! What?”