CHAPTER XXII
CLEARING HAL
With nervous haste, Dr. Byrd took a piece of folded paper from theenvelope and examined it. The letter was short and had to do with apurchase 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. "Thelast 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 arelooking for this fellow Maxwell. He was a teller there, I believe."
"You don't say!" exclaimed the owner of Lakefarm. "It's singular that Ididn't see it in the papers."
"The story was printed all right. You probably read only the headlinesand missed his name. You don't read the newspapers the way wepoliticians 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 thepockets of the dead man's clothing. But nothing more was discovered andthe party returned into the cave.
"Let's take everything outside and continue our examination in thesunlight," the doctor proposed.
"Good suggestion," said the coroner, picking up the box and starting forthe entrance.
Dr. Byrd rolled up several blankets, tucked them under his arm andfollowed Mr. Huffman. The lifting of one of the blankets disclosedseveral cooking utensils, a bag of salt and half a dozen empty fruitcans. All these and other articles the boys picked up and carriedoutside beyond the western end of the passage and placed them on theground.
First, the contents of the box were examined, and they proved to be ofgreat interest. On top were two books, then several newspapers andmagazines. Next appeared several boxes of matches, two or three hundredcartridges, also in boxes, some collars, neckties and handkerchiefs; twoshirts, and finally a small satchel, packed full and heavy.
Eagerly the coroner seized the latter and attempted to open it. But theclasp 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 fittedand turned easily, and the satchel fell open.
Exclamations of eagerness and satisfaction burst from the lips of theonlookers. The object of their search was found. The little valise wasfull of paper money, assorted in denominations and done up in smallpackages with strips of paper pinned around them.
On each binding strip was written with pencil some figures representingthe amount contained in the package. These made the counting of themoney easy. In the bottom of the satchel was more than a thousanddollars in gold coins, the counting of which required more time than thetotaling of all the assorted certificates and notes. The coroner made anitemized list of these packages and coins according to denominations andamounts. On footing them, he found that the total was $30,380.
The official now drew up a certificate of their discovery at the foot ofthe itemized list, and, at his request, they all signed it. Then hepacked the money back in the valise, with the statement and certificateon top, and snapped the latch and locked it.
"There, that's all done," Mr. Huffman announced. "What else have wehere?"
Boys and men now began to overhaul the other personal effects of theslain robber. They shook out the blankets, inspected the empty fruitcans, looked into the cooking utensils and pushed their hands or fingersinto the pockets of the two extra suits of clothing. In one of thesepockets, Dr. Byrd found a small metal box about twice the thickness ofan ordinary pocket match-safe.
With more curiosity than eagerness, he attempted to open the box, but itresisted 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 timesin an effort to find a clasp or catch. Presently he discovered a tinybutton at one end and pressed on it with his thumb nail, but with noresult. After considerable manipulation he finally solved the secret bypressing 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, toseize the object of interest. The coroner, however, held on with bothhands to prevent the eager doctor from spilling the sparkling contents.
"Those are mine!" exclaimed the Lakefarm owner. "Those are the rubiesand 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 wholesummer of discoveries for Lakefarm and Mummy Canyon," declared Dr. Byrdwith excusable excitement. "I tell you, this has been a history makingseason for Colorado and even the United States. Think of what hashappened here this summer! Why it's simply stupendous. When this canyonbecomes a popular summer resort it will have a most interesting historyfor advertising purposes."
"Yes, you're right," agreed Mr. Huffman. "And these runaway boys havedone about all of it, haven't they?" he added with a mischievous look atthe five young Scouts standing around and eagerly listening to theconversation.
"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 apart in the discoveries that followed. In fact, I think every one oftheir names should be given to some point or feature of interest on thismountain."
"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 reminiscentshudder and a grin.
"Good again!" Dr. Byrd exclaimed.
"And that cliff where we stood when we shot the arrows into thecanyon--let's call that Whistling Arrow Point," suggested Ferdinand.
"Keep it up, boys, and you'll soon have everything well named," said thecoroner with appreciative cheeriness.
Just then all were startled by an interruption from Mr. Miles who hadbeen busy while the others were exclaiming over the discovery of themoney and the gems. In one hand he held a coat and in the other severalobjects the size of small potatoes which he had drawn from one of thepockets. The objects were of a soiled yellow.
"I've found my nuggets! I've found my nuggets!" cried the aviatorgleefully. "Hal, you're fully exonerated now, and the mystery of the bagof specimens in the cave is solved. Maxwell found them in the canyon,took them behind the waterfall, picked out the nuggets, left the bag inthe cave and accidentally dropped one of the lumps of gold!"
Before the excitement of this discovery was over, another thriller wasadded to the rapid succession of events. Suddenly from the very cave inwhich they had seen the mountain lion on the day before, issued a darkobject, which bounded down an incline of stones and earth and sped withswift leaps past the aeroplane and off toward the edge of themountain-top plateau.