CHAPTER XV
THE LEATHER BAG MISSING
When Clay went to the cashier's desk to pay the check for the mealsthe two boys had eaten, also with a view of finding out what was knownthere of the red-headed man, he asked the first question which cameinto his mind.
"Is that the sheriff--the tall man with the red hair?"
The cashier eyed the boy keenly for a moment and then answered thequestion by asking one, as many who wait on the public have a habit ofdoing.
"Why? Do you want to see the sheriff?" he asked, suspiciously.
Clay was provoked, but tried not to show it as he replied,
"I thought I knew the man, that's all. Perhaps I was mistaken, for hewould have recognized me, I'm certain, if he had ever seen me before."
"Well, that's not the sheriff," the cashier replied, more civilly; "Idon't know who he is. He came in here this forenoon, for the firsttime, with those two men, and he has been in here twice since. Thereare others with him, too, for people kept coming in and making reportsof some kind to him. One made a sign to him, through the glass, whileyou were eating. He may be a crook, for all I know."
Clay thanked the cashier and went away, turning in the direction ofthe river front immediately. At the next corner he came face to facewith the cashier of the bank where he had secured the deposit box. Thebanker extended a hand in greeting.
"I was just wishing," he said, "that I could run across you thisafternoon. I have a little spare time, and I'd like to look over thatwonderful boat of yours. Not long ago I saw a full-page description ofyour river trips in a Chicago newspaper."
"Come along, then," Clay replied. "You'll have a good chance to see itby daylight if you go now. It isn't very much of a boat, but we'reproud of it. It is just an ordinary motor boat, with electricalattachments which provide for lighting and cooking. There's also alittle refrigerator, cooled by water, and a container for holdingelectricity in storage, so we have plenty of light when the boat isnot running. But come along and take a look at it."
As the two walked arm-in-arm down the street two men fell in behindthem, moving as they moved, fast or slow, and stopping whenever thecashier drew up to explain some city feature to the boy. After acouple of blocks of this work, the two walked faster and, coming inadvance of the two they had followed, turned about and greeted thecashier warmly. They were promptly introduced to Clay as Hilton andCarney.
"We're just going to the river to look over the _Rambler_, the famousmotor boat we have talked so much about," Benson, the cashier said."If Mr. Emmett, here, has no objections, I'd like to have you go alongwith us."
"No objections whatever," Clay responded. "There isn't much to see,but such as it is you are welcome to have a look."
Clay did not observe the significant look which passed from thecashier to the two men, as they walked along toward the boat. Theysoon reached the pier and went aboard the _Rambler_, finding Case,Chet, Jule and Mose there. The bear cub attracted a great deal ofattention, and Chet seemed to take special interest in the doings ofthe party.
The three men did not hurry themselves at all, but took their timeabout everything. They inspected the bunks and the cupboard, and evenlooked into the storage places under the decks and the cabin floor.
Clay was with them most of the time, but now and then they halted andconversed together in low tones, so, of course, the boy dropped awayfrom the group. He considered this a strange proceeding on the part ofthe guests, but said nothing.
Finally they asked Clay all sorts of questions about their progressdown the river, when they left Rock Island, when they touched at St.Louis, and when they reached Cairo. The boy, though wondering,answered the rather personal questions frankly.
It was almost dark when the visitors left the boat. Their last visithad been made to the cabin, to inspect the electric stove, and theypassed the boys on the prow as they went ashore. For a time aftertheir departure the boys discussed the unusual conduct of thevisitors, and then Chet and Clay went in to prepare supper.
Taking advantage of a momentary absence of Chet from the cabin, Claylooked in the hiding-place where he had left the leather bag in whichthe diamonds had been brought on shore. The bag was gone! Clayhastened out on deck to meet two astonished boys.
"Say," Case said, "what's come over Chet? He came out of the cabinlike a shot and jumped off on the pier. Then, without even stopping tolook back, he ran down into the city! What have you been doing tohim?"
Clay stood for a moment like one incapable of speech, then he droppedinto a deck-chair and laughed until the tears ran down his cheeks.Captain Joe and Teddy joined the others in their criticism of hisstrange actions.
"You didn't get too many high balls while in the city, did you?" askedCase.
"You might have kept sober enough to bring Alex. back with you!" Juleput in.
"Ah believe yo' done scare dat lad off de boat!" little Mosesuggested.
"Well," Clay explained, presently, "I suppose I ought to treat thematter more seriously, for we may have lost Chet for good, but it isfunny for all that."
"Why don't you pass it around?" demanded Case. "Let us in on thelaugh!"
"You all know what I did with the articles we found on Chet," Clayresponded. "Well, when I took the valuables out of the leather bag, Iput burrs from the repair kit and pieces of broken dishes into the bagand hid it where I thought Chet might find it if he looked longenough."
"I don't see anything funny in that," observed Case, with a frown.
"Just wait! When I looked for the bag, just now, it was gone, and thenext thing I hear is that Chet has taken to his heels. You see whathas happened!"
"The poor little chap!" exclaimed Case. "I'm sorry for him."
"So am I," Clay agreed, "but he ought to have been honest with us."
"We knew what to expect," Jule suggested. "He said he'd get the gemsback if he could, didn't he? Now he thinks he's got them, and islugging off a lot of truck not worth a cent! I call that a shame!"
Clay looked thoughtful for a second and then burst out:
"But is he? Look here, fellows," he went on, excitedly, "suppose henever took the bag at all! Suppose Chet found it and changed his mindabout running off with it! Suppose one of the visitors took it!Suppose that is what they were here for; suppose Chet missed it assoon as they went away and chased on after them!"
"You said the visitors were bankers!" exploded Jule. "What aboutthat?"
"One of them was, but I don't know anything about the others. Strangethey should all be so eager to inspect the _Rambler_! Strange theyshould get off by themselves and talk in whispers! I reckon we'reknee-deep in mystery!"
"Well, where did you leave Alex.?" asked Jule. "He hasn't come backyet!"
"And here's another funny thing," Clay went on, without answering thequestion, directly. "We saw Red, the Robber, up town, dressed like agentleman! Alex. followed him out of the place where we saw him, andmay have got into trouble!"
"Then the stealing of the bag is Red's work!" decided Case. "No needto guess about that any more! How he got his men in with the banker Idon't know, but he did it, and one of them took it, and poor Chet sawthat it was gone, and now he is following a bag filled with crockeryabout the city!"
"Pshaw!" Jule exclaimed. "It is dollars to doughnuts that Chet got thebag himself! He said he'd swipe it if he got a chance. You all knowthat!"
A figure now came dashing down the pier at break-neck speed and Alex.leaped on the deck and dropped into a chair, wiping the sweat from hisface.
"Did you find who he was?" asked Clay, as the boys all gathered aroundAlex.
Alex. told the story of the steamer and the wrecked stateroom, andended with the talk he had had with Red, while the boys looked on inwonder at the odd twist things were getting into. Even Teddy Bearseemed impressed by the mystery, Jule declared!
"And how did you get away from him?" demanded Case. "How did you getback here?"
"I jumped and ran, and he caught me," was the reply. "Then he made mepromise
not to say a word about his escapade on the _Rambler_ and letme go! Can you beat it?"
"What did he have you locked up for?" asked Clay. "I don't understandthat."
"Just because he wanted that promise," Alex. suggested. "Is that theanswer?"
"It may be," Clay admitted, "but here's the question: Is he a robberor a detective? Is he on the level, or is he just a clever scoundrel?"
"Perhaps Alex. can judge better of that when he knows what has takenplace here," Case suggested, going on with the story of thedisappearance of the leather bag.
"Red's gang got it," laughed Alex., without a moment's hesitation, asCase finished the story. "He knew Clay put something in the bank, andasked me what it was. Yes, we know all about it now!"
"I just believe Chet took the bag, thinking the gems were in it,"insisted Jule.
"We'll never know the truth until we find the lad," Clay said, with asigh.
"Unless Red, the Robber, shows up again in a confidential mood," Alex.laughed.
"If the supplies I ordered are all in," Clay went on, "I think we'dbetter be on our way. There's mystery in the very air here!"
"If we stay here long," Alex. prophesied, "the coon I biffed on theshin may show up, lookin' for revenge, or Red may come after pay forthe furniture I smashed!"
"What did he say about that furniture?" grinned Jule. "You've got thenerve!"
"He never mentioned it," was the reply. "Say," the lad went on, "Ibelieve that chap is all to the good, after all! He seemed to thinkthe smash act was funny."
During the afternoon Case and Mose had caught a large fish and Chethad succeeded in bringing down a wild duck, so the cooking of supperwas an elaborate affair. Then Clay made light biscuits and coffee, andfried potatoes, and the boys were as happy as well-fed boys with noone to "boss," usually are, except that they missed Chet.
After supper they discussed the proposition of waiting there a day inthe hope of finding the runaway boy, but it was finally decided thathe could find them easier than they could find him, so they startedthe motors and went on toward the Gulf.
The early part of the night was bright, so the boys ran down abouttwenty miles, as the river ran, and then tied up below a "tow-head"which stuck up out of the water below an island of good size. Theyfound it necessary to take this precaution always, for the wash oflarge steamers passing up and down would have rattled things in the_Rambler_, if the motor boat was not capsized.
At midnight the sky became overcast with threatening clouds and thewind blew in fitful gusts. There seemed to be no danger of their beingdisturbed by visitors that night, but all the same they thought bestto station a watchman, and Case volunteered to keep awake and see that"no one flew away with the boat," as he expressed it.
Somewhere about two o'clock in the morning, the boy, who was havinghard work keeping awake, heard the puff and bellow of an approachingsteamer, toiling up against the strong current. Almost at the sameinstant he felt a jar, as if the boat had been struck by floatingdriftwood. He switched on the prow light to see what was doing, butquickly extinguished it as the steamer came up and a heavy rowboatdropped away from her!