Chapter 8 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."

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