s lips and emitted a whistle.

"Lost a wallet with jewelry in it, eh?" he repeated.

"Have you looked everywhere for it?" asked Fan Harding, with an
appearance of great solicitude.

"Everywhere we can think of," rejoined Roy. He turned to Jimsy, who had
just joined him. Jimsy looked despondent and worried. A glance at his
countenance convinced Roy that the jewel case was still missing.

"I'll get out and help you look for it myself," said Fan Harding
suddenly. "It's awfully queer. Miss Bancroft remarked when she left the
bank that she would take particular care of the jewels."

"I wonder if any one passed on this road while we were unconscious?"
queried Roy, looking narrowly at Fan.

To his surprise, the other answered with a great show of frankness.

"It's very odd," he exclaimed, "but I myself must have gone by this place
not more than a few moments after the smash-up. I was on my way to Gid
Gibbons's blacksmith shop to get a part of my motor-cycle fixed up. I
guess if I hadn't been bending over my brakes as I rode down hill I'd
have seen the place myself."

"Guess so," struck in Gid, with a grin; "no one never accused you of
being blind."

"My motor-cycle was in worse repair than I thought," went on Fan, "and so
I left it at Gid's place and accepted his offer to ride into town with
him."

This all sounded plausible enough. Yet Roy noted that Fan had not
mentioned his little excursion into the wood with the pistol. What was he
trying to conceal? What had been his mission there?

While these thoughts flashed through Roy's mind Gid and his daughter had
followed Fan's example and now joined the searchers. By this time, Jess,
under the doctor's ministrations, was able to sit up. Her face was pale
as marble, partly from suffering, for her ankle still gave her
considerable pain, and partly from agitation at the loss of the jewels.

There was a sudden puffing of an auto, and presently Mrs. Bancroft
herself, in a smaller car than the wrecked one, was driven into the group
by one of the employees of her husband's estate. As gently as possible,
after first explanations had been made, Jess broke the news to her. Mrs.
Bancroft, a tall, stately woman, went white as she heard.

"One of those jewels, a ruby, was an heirloom that has been in the family
for years," she exclaimed. "I would not have lost it for all the others.
Has every place been searched thoroughly?"

"Everywhere, mamma," responded Jess.

"Bin over t