; that sort of thing has been done lots of times in other
places?" remarked Colon.

"All of which makes our duty the plainer, boys," Fred told them, "which
is to keep this tin box, and show it to Chief Sutton. He'll know what to
do about it, and if he says we ought to tell Mr. Periwinkle, why, we'll
take a turn up there to-night. I heard that he'd offered a small reward
for the return of the papers, and no questions asked; which was a bid to
the thief to send the same back, and get paid for doing it."

"And to think of you falling down into this cave the way you did, Fred,"
Colon continued. "Do you reckon that hole up there might be the only way
in and out?"

"Well, as far as I could see around, it's only a small affair, so I
wouldn't be surprised if that turned out to be the case," was the reply
Fred made.

Bristles apparently had brought a bountiful supply of matches along, and
did not mean to spare them, if by striking successive lights he could
satisfy his curiosity.

The others saw him bend forward, and act as though he had picked some
small object from the rocky floor of the cave.

"What did you find, Bristles?" demanded Fred.

"Share and share alike," called out Colon. "If you've discovered a
diamond, why we all ought to have a part of what you get for the same.
What's that, Bristles? Well, I declare, if it isn't a sort of breastpin,
as sure as you live! But such a cheap affair isn't worth ten cents. If
that's the stuff this robber has got his pockets lined with, it won't pay
the Chief much to chase him down. Only a flimsy little old plated
breastpin, with a red stone in it. Huh!"

But the face that Bristles turned on Fred Fenton expressed a vast amount
of uneasiness, surprise and concern.

"Gee! I wonder now, if that could be?" he was muttering, so that even
Fred began to see that Bristles had struck some sort of clue calculated
to stagger him more or less.

"What ails you, Bristles?" Fred asked him, pointedly, as the match went
out.

"Why, Fred, as sure as my name is Andy Carpenter, which I sometimes hear
it is, I've seen this same silly little pin before!"

"Where?" demanded Fred, almost holding his breath as though he
anticipated the answer that was coming.

"That little girl had it on the day we pulled her brother, Sam Ludson,
out of the river," was the startling reply.

CHAPTER IX

AT THE TOLL-GATE

"Are you sure of that, Bristles?" asked Fred, upon hearing his chum m