CHAPTER IV
IMPORTANT LETTERS
"Whoa! Steady old boy! Easy now!"
Thus Jack exclaimed, as he leaped from the Saddle and held the reinslightly to restrain Sunger.
The pony snorted, whinnied, and, after prancing about a few moments, stoodstill.
"That's better!" commented Jack. "Now let's see what happened."
There was, as Jack said, "half a moon," and by the light of this he wasable to see, as he glanced over the part of the bridge he had traversed, aplace where a plank had fallen out. A gap was left--a gap wide enough tohave allowed a horse's leg to slip through, with disastrous results toanimal and rider.
"Well, Sunger, old boy," went on Jack, "did we do that; did it just happenof itself; or was it done on purpose?"
For, in a second's flash, there had come to him his father's warning.
"Well, if it's some one after my job, it's a mean trick they have played intrying to get it," mused Jack, aloud. "I wouldn't so much mind for myself,for I guess I could have swum out all right. But I guess you'd have beenpretty well banged up, old boy," and he patted his pony, which now hadgotten over his first fright.
Jack, whose wildly-beating heart had now somewhat calmed itself, stoodbeside his faithful pony and considered what his next move had best be.Among other thoughts was the one that he must, in some way, repair thebridge so that any one coming after him would not slip through the holesleft where the misplaced planks had fallen into the stream.
"I can get a couple of logs or some big branches in the woods," thoughtJack, "and stick them in the holes."
Instinctively he looked to see if the mail and express pouches were safe.Yes, there they were on the saddle front. None of them had slipped off whenthe pony rider himself had so narrowly escaped.
Then, with a quick motion, Jack's hand went to the breast pocket of hiscoat, where he had placed the small, sealed express package. To hisconsternation he felt no bulky protuberance there, such as would have beenmade by the parcel.
"Whew!" whistled Jack. "Great Scott! I hope I haven't lost that!"
It was very possible that he might have done so, for he remembered pitchingforward on his pony's neck, as he leaned over to save himself. The packagecould easily have slipped from his pocket.
In a veritable frenzy of alarm, Jack rapidly searched through his otherpockets, thinking he might, by some chance, have thrust the valuable parcelinto one other than the first he had selected as being the most secure. Butit was not to be found.
"Just my luck!" he cried aloud. "It's lost. This will end my services as apony express rider!"
His steed whinnied, thinking, perhaps, that his master might have beenspeaking to him, as Jack frequently did. Indeed, the lad often talked tohis horse as one might to a human being, and Jack stoutly maintained thatSunger understood as much if not more than some people.
"Well, if it's gone, it's gone," Jack said, sadly enough "And it wasn't myfault, either. I couldn't know those planks in the bridge were loose. It'slucky Sunger felt them giving in time, and gave me the alarm, or we mightboth be lying somewhere with broken legs, if not worse."
He glanced back to the place where the accident had so nearly occurred. Inthe gleam of the moon he could see two black streaks in the otherwise levelflooring of the bridge, the planks of which were white from the bleachingof the sun and the dust of the mountain trail.
"That's where I nearly went through," mused Jack. Hardly had the thoughtcome to him than he saw, lying on the very edge of one of the blackopenings, a small, light object.
"Jove! If that could be it!" he murmured. Cautiously he started toward it,in fear lest the vibration of his steps jar the sealed packet into thestream, for that it was the sealed packet Jack now felt sure.
As the lad started forward his horse followed him, so well trained wasSunger.
"No; stay back, old fellow!" Jack exclaimed. The pony, whinnying, obeyed.Jack noticed that one of the mail bags was hanging loose, as if about tofall, but he reasoned that he could fasten that securely after he hadlearned whether or not the white object was the package missing from hispocket.
Cautiously he approached, and there, lying on the very verge of one of theopenings made by the missing planks, was the packet, which Jack was surecontained jewelry, if not money.
"Well, if this isn't lucky!" he cried, as he picked it up, and thrust itinto the bottom of his inside vest pocket. "Just pure luck! You won't getout again," he added, patting the package.
It was the work of but a few minutes to drag from the nearby woods some bigbranches to fill in the holes left by the missing planks. Of course, thebranches did not make the bridge secure, but they could easily be seen,even after the moon went down, and would warn chance passersby of thedanger. There was a chance that some one might come after Jack passed,though the pony express trail was one not often followed after nightfall.
Jack tried to ascertain by careful looking how the planks had come to giveway under the hoofs of his steed. But there was no clew that he coulddiscover. The bridge was not a carefully made one, and it would have beenan easy matter for any one to so loosen a couple of the planks that theleast motion would send them into the stream below.
"But who would want to do a thing like that?" Jack reasoned. "I might havebeen killed, and so might Sunger. Well, all's well that ends well, I guess.Now I'd better be getting along."
The bridge was as secure as Jack could make it in his haste, and havingmade sure that nothing was missing from the mail and express pouches, andfastening them securely, he mounted his horse again, and set off at alively pace. For a while he was worried lest his pony might have strained ashoulder or a tendon, but Sunger appeared to be none the worse for theadventure.
Jack rode on, and had covered about half the distance to Rainbow Ridge whenhe heard, on the trail ahead of him, the sounds of other hoof-beats. Atfirst he thought it might be the echo of his own, but a moment of listeningtold him it was some one else on the road.
"I wonder who it can be," he asked himself.
He saw a few minutes later. It was Jake Tantrell, the man who had sneeredat him--the man who was anxious to have his place. Was it fancy, or didTantrell start and draw back his horse at sight of Jack.
"Look out for the bridge," Jack called as he passed the man, making up hismind, even though the fellow had scorned him, that he could do no less thanwarn him. "A couple of planks gave way with me a while ago."
"Oh--er--they did! Planks gave way?" Tantrell stammered.
"Yes," Jack said. "I nearly had a bad fall."
He said nothing about the dropped package.
"Well, that's too bad," the man said. "They ought to fix that bridge."
"Some one did," said Jack.
"Eh? What's that?"
"I said some one did. I mean some one fixed it for me, I think."
"What--what do you mean?"
"I mean those planks never came loose by themselves. I stuck a couple ofbranches in the holes. Look out when you ride over."
"Oh--I--I will. Thanks!" the man exclaimed, almost as an afterthought.
Then Jack rode on, and Tantrell passed him, giving the lad a sharp glancein the gloom, for the moon was now down below the hills.
Rather shaken by his night's adventure, and a bit anxious, Jack finallyreached his own cottage. He turned in there, preferring to do so ratherthan to awaken Mrs. Watson and her family at this hour, though he wasanxious to know how his father was feeling.
"But I guess he must be all right, or they'd have sent me some word,"reasoned Jack.
He put his horse in the stable, and, after a hasty lunch from the cupboard,turned into his own room, and slept soundly until morning. He was up earlyin order to deliver the mail for the stage which would soon go out, andamong the things he turned over to the driver was the package that had sonearly been lost.
"I'm glad to get rid of that," he said to Jed Monty. "It looks as if it'sworth something," and he pointed to the many seals.
"That's so
, it does," Jed replied. "Guess I'll stow it in a safe placemyself."
Jack gave a warning about the missing planks of the bridge, and the roadcommissioner promised to have repairs made. The lad said nothing of hissuspicions that the planks had intentionally been loosened, for he felt itwould do no good.
"I'll just keep my eyes open myself," he reasoned, "and maybe I can findout a few things. It might be that some one who wants to be a pony expressrider in my place might try to make trouble for me in that way. Maybe theydidn't actually want to harm me or my horse, but they might have wanted meto lose some mail. But I didn't!"
For the next few days nothing of moment occurred. Jack rode the trailwithout anything happening to him, and there were only light loads tocarry. His father improved slightly, but Dr. Brown predicted that it wouldbe at least two months before he could be out.
At Golden Crossing Jennie was busy with her post office duties, but shefound time to spend a few hours with Jack when he was at the settlement.
It was one morning when the young rider went to the Mansion Hotel, as theone hostelry in Rainbow Ridge was called, that Samuel Argent, who had oncebeen a prominent miner, but who had lost several fortunes, came to thestage station and post office with several letters in his hand. Each onewas sealed with red wax.
"Going to make the trip straight through today, Jack?" he asked, for heknew the lad slightly, though better acquainted with his father.
"Yes, I expect to, Mr. Argent," was the answer. "Is there anything I can dofor you?" Jack often executed small commissions, for which he was paidextra.
"Well, this is in your regular line," the miner said, "but I have someimportant letters here, and I'd rather give them to you, personally, thanput them in the mail. I'd like to have you hand them over to the GoldenCrossing stage man and--"
At that moment a man came running out of the hotel. He waved his hand toMr. Argent.
"Don't send those letters!" he exclaimed, and he seemed quite excited."Hold 'em! Don't let Jack take 'em!"