But Ruth still stared at the hidden hollow in the tree and suddenly she darted forward and knelt where Parloe had knelt.
"What are you going to do, Ruth?" demanded her chum.
"I want to see that box—I must see it!" cried the girl from the Red Mill.
"Hold on!" said Tom. "I'll get it for you. You'll get your dress dirty."
"I wouldn't touch it," cried Helen, warningly.
"I must!" gasped Ruth, greatly excited.
"It don't belong to you," quoth Helen.
"And I'm very sure it doesn't belong to Jasper Parloe," declared Ruth, earnestly.
Tom glanced at the girl from the Red Mill suddenly, and with close attention. He seemed to understand her excitement.
"Let me in there," said the youth. "I can reach it, Ruthie."