“What else can it be? I couldn’t lose my ring and everything else, could I, by just tumbling from my bicycle?”
“Andy must be right—the sudden coming down of the tree limb proves it,” declared Pepper. “Were you unconscious long?” he continued.
“I don’t know.”
“But you are sure you were completely knocked out when you hit the rock?” asked Dale.
“Yes—everything got dark and I didn’t know a thing. And, yes, when I came to my senses—just before you arrived—I was in the bushes!”
“Then somebody must have carried you from the road!” declared Jack. “And that somebody robbed you!” he added, bitterly.
After this there was a moment of silence. The others looked at Andy, and the acrobatic lad stared at them blankly.
“Yes, I must have been robbed,” he said slowly. “But who did it?”
“I don’t believe any of our fellows would do it,” answered Dale. “Even Ritter isn’t bad enough for that.”
“Would the Pornell fellows do it?” queried Stuffer.