“They told you that I had fallen down the bank?” asked Jack, in the greatest excitement.
“Yes, and you look it all right.”
“Who told you that, Dick?”
“Pete Herring and Ernest Merritt. They said they had seen you fall and had tried to warn you but were too late.”
“Where did you see them?”
“In the woods. I was going there to meet you as I had promised.”
“How long before had it happened, did they tell you? Did you meet them in the woods?”
“Yes, and very soon after you fell, probably. I heard a scream and hurried on. Then I met them and they told me what had happened.”
“Yes, but not how it happened. Dick, I was thrown down the bank. It was not an accident at all, it was a deliberate——”
“Do you know which of the two did it?” gasped Dick.