, circled
around, dropping lower and lower, until presently it came to a stop in
the field close to the fence.

When it landed it was done so beautifully that, as Andy enthusiastically
said, an egg would hardly have broken had it come between. And there,
not more than twenty feet away, the man, dressed in a blue uniform and
wearing a silver shield with the words "Chief of Police" engraved upon
it, was soothing his horse, which had apparently been badly frightened
by the swooping down of what seemed to be a great roc, or some other
species of now extinct gigantic kings of the air.

"What's up, Chief?" asked Frank, as soon as they had reached the road
together.

"Then you haven't heard the terrible news; they told me you left home to
come up here about daybreak; and we didn't find it out until an hour
ago. The bank in Bloomsbury was broken open last night, the safe rifled,
and the thieves have disappeared in the queerest way ever heard of, for
they left no trace behind. And when I saw you boys aloft, I was in hopes
you might have seen something of the bank looters."

CHAPTER V

THE EXCITEMENT GROWS

"Well, what d'ye think of that for news, eh, Frank?" burst out Andy, in
his usual impetuous way, after the Bloomsbury Chief of Police had made
this startling announcement.

Frank was as a rule much cooler than his cousin. He had undoubtedly been
equally astounded to hear of the terrible calamity that had befallen the
banking institution, in which most of the leading citizens of the town
were financially interested; but he certainly did not show it the same
way.

His eyebrows went up to indicate astonishment; and a slight frown
settled on his grave face, as he replied to Andy's question.

"It's a stunner, just as you say, Andy; but I wish the Chief would tell
us a few more details. I think it's a little queer nobody seemed to have
any suspicion of this awful business at the time I left home on
horseback, to ride up to the Quackenboss farm, where you had been
watching our injured aeroplane all night."

"Well," continued the head of the Bloomsbury police force; "that's
because the yeggs worked so neatly they never left a bit of mess around
to arouse suspicion; and the first thing that was known of the looting
of the bank was when Seth Jarvie, the day watchman, went into the place
at seven this morning to relieve Cadger, the night man, and found him
lying there, tied up like a bundle of goods, and nearly dead