Drawing his knife, Tom proceeded to slash through the rope that was wrapped and tied about the bundle and then commenced to rip out the tightly drawn stitches with which it was sewn.
“Whoever sewed this didn’t intend it to get away in a hurry,” he remarked as the first layer of heavy canvas fell back and disclosed another beneath it.
“Reminds me of the pill-boxes the druggists have,” supplied Jim. “Just one inside of another right down to a tiny one. Perhaps that’s all this is.”
“Nobody’d take the trouble to sew it all up and tie it to a bird’s leg unless ’twas something important,” declared Tom decisively. “I’ll bet there’s something mighty interesting in it.”
Two more layers of canvas were removed, and as the last was pulled away, the boys saw a brass tube, or cylindrical box, with both ends stopped with wood.
“That’s a funny looking thing,” commented Tom as he turned it about. “Looks like a—gee, I know what ’tis! It’s part of a telescope.”
“Perhaps there’s something in it,” Jim suggested excitedly. “Open it and see.”
After some difficulty, Tom pried out one of the wooden plugs and tipped up the cylinder, but nothing dropped out. Then, as he peered within it, he cried out, “Gosh! There is something in there.”
Inserting his finger in the tube, while the nerves of both boys tingled with expectancy, Tom drew out a roll of some crinkled, whitish-yellow material which they thought, at first, was paper.
“Hurrah! It’s a message!” shouted Jim. “Gee, we’re in luck!”