CHAPTER VII
A STRANGE LETTER BOX
"It won't be long now before we'll have to get back to Putnam Hall,"observed Sam, as they drove along. "Dear old school! How I love it!"
"It's too bad that we are getting too old to go there," said Tom. "Butwe can't be boys always."
"I shall be glad to see the other fellows again," came from Dick.
"Do you know what I think?" declared Tom. "I think the Putnam Hallcadets are the finest lot of boys in the world!"
"Throwing bouquets at yourself, Tom?" said Sam, with a laugh.
"Well, don't you agree with me?"
"I certainly do, Sam, and Captain Putnam is the best teacher in theworld. My, but won't we have fun when we get back!"
"We'll have to have a feast in honor of our return," said Dick, andsmiled that quiet smile of his which meant so much.
The distance to the cave was soon covered, and the boys tied their teamto a tree in that vicinity. They went inside and found that everything,even to the empty boxes, had been taken away. The place had beenexplored by a number of curiosity seekers.
"It is queer that this cave wasn't discovered before," was Dick'scomment, after they had spent half an hour in walking around.
"Perhaps the opening to the road wasn't so large formerly," suggestedTom. "Dangler may have enlarged it, so he could drive in."
"That is true. Well, it will be a regular picnic place after this. Itsfame will spread for miles around." And Dick was right, and the cave isa well-known spot in that portion of New York state to this day.
The boys had brought with them two electric pocket lights, as they arecalled--lights they had purchased while on their river outing--and withthese turned on they walked to the extreme rear of the cave and alongthe various passageways running up the mountainside.
"Here is where we dropped in," said Dick, pointing out the spot.
"I wish we could drop out--and land up on the mountain outside,"returned his youngest brother. "Then, maybe, you could locate that tinlunch box, or whatever it was."
"I'd get up, Very soon If I had, A big balloon!"
sang out Tom, merrily. "But as there doesn't seem to be a balloon handy,what's the matter with trying to climb up?" he added.
"And pull down several tons of dirt and rock on your head," said Dick."Better go slow. We already know how treacherous these holes are. You'llget out of one by getting into another that's worse."
"I brought a lariat along," said Sam.
"A lariat?" queried the others.
"Sure,--the one I bought when we were out west. I thought we might useit for climbing purposes. It is light but strong, and we can lasso atree or stump up there with it."
"Hurrah! Sam has solved the problem of how the Rover boys shall rise inthe world!" exclaimed Tom, gaily. "Sam, try your skill by all means."
"Show me the tree or stump and I will," answered his brother readily.
As well as they were able, they crawled from one part of the hole to aspot that was somewhat higher. Then they found a projecting rock abovethem and Sam threw the noose of his lariat over this.
"Will it hold?" queried Dick. "You don't want to try to climb up andfall."
With caution Sam pulled on the lariat. It held, and he went up hand overhand, for he was a fair athlete. Then his brothers followed. They nowstood on a ledge of rock, and the top of the hole was still twelve feetabove them.
"There is a small tree, Sam," said Tom, looking upward. "If you canlasso that I think we'll be all right."
Once more the youngest Rover started to use the lariat. As it swungupward it missed the tree and swished out of sight over the edge of thehole.
"Ouch!" came the unexpected cry from above. "Oh, my eye!"
"Hullo! you've lashed somebody!" ejaculated Dick.
"I didn't know there was anybody up there," answered Sam, as the nooseof the lasso slipped downward.
The three Rover boys looked upward. They heard a hasty movement in thebushes and caught a brief glimpse of a man's face. On the instant theman disappeared, muttering something to himself.
"It was Dangler!" ejaculated Dick.
"Are you sure?" asked both of the others, in a breath.
"Almost positive."
Dick had scarcely spoken the last words when down into the hole came ashower of dirt and stones, shoved over the edge above. The boys werestruck by the stones and got some of the dirt in their eyes. Then downcame a second mass of the same sort.
"Sto--stop that!" spluttered Tom, when he could speak. "Do you want tokill us?"
There was no answer, but down came more dirt and stones, until the boyswere almost covered. What to do they did not know, until Dick suggestedthey drop from the ledge and seek safety in the cave. As they went down,a fair-sized rock followed, scraping Tom's shoulder and causing him toutter a sharp cry of pain.
"Are you hurt, Tom?" asked his two brothers.
"Oh, it isn't much," panted Tom. "But I wish I could get my hands onthat rascal, that's all!"
"I am sure now that it must be Dangler," said Dick. "Nobody else aroundhere would try to injure us. He is mad because we have exposed him. Hemust know the officers of the law are looking for him."
"I wish we could catch the rascal," muttered Tom.
"Supposing we climb the mountain from the outside?" suggested Sam. "Itis a perfectly clear day and is early yet. We'll know enough to look outfor pitfalls. If we can catch this Dangler the three of us ought to beable to manage him."
"If we are going to try anything like that we want to hurry," returnedDick. "He won't remain in this locality long--now he knows he isdiscovered."
"Maybe he thinks we didn't see him," came from Tom.
"Well, that will be in our favor. But he'll know somebody will be afterhim, for throwing down the dirt and stones."
Having eaten a hasty lunch and washed it down with water from a nearbyspring, the three lads began the ascent of the mountain. This was hardwork and caused them to perspire freely.
"I'm glad I'm not fat," said Tom. "If I was I'd be winded sure."
"I think we'd better keep quiet as soon as we reach the vicinity of theholes," cautioned Dick.
Half an hour of hard climbing brought the boys to the vicinity wherethey had first fallen into the holes leading to the cave, and then theyadvanced cautiously and in almost absolute silence. They stopped tolisten several times, but heard nothing but the calls of some birds andthe trickling of water over the rocks.
Arriving at the top of the hole from where the dirt and stones had beenthrown, they gazed around with interest. Where the soil was soft theycould see the footprints of shoes much larger than those they themselveswore.
"Here is his trail, going away," said Dick, after a close examination.
"There is your tin box!" cried Sam, pointing to the object, stilldangling from a distant tree.
"Wait till I see what is in it," answered his big brother. "It won'ttake but a minute or two."
"Beware of holes!" cautioned Tom.
Feeling his way through the brushwood, Dick approached the dangling tinbox. It was a small affair and now hung open. He felt certain in hismind that when he had seen it before it had been closed.
The box proved to be empty and Dick was, somehow, disappointed. Heglanced on the ground and saw a number of bits of paper, some oldlooking and some new. He picked up some of the bits and saw they hadbeen written on in pencil, but the words or parts of words wereundecipherable.
"Well, what do you make of it?" questioned Sam, as he and Tom came up.
"I think I know what this is," answered Dick.
"What?"
"A sort of a private post-office. Somebody was in the habit of leavingmessages here, and Dangler or somebody else got the messages from timeto time."