Thus Jack exclaimed, as he leaped from the Saddle and held the reins lightly to restrain Sunger.
The pony snorted, whinnied, and, after prancing about a few moments, stood still.
"That's better!" commented Jack. "Now let's see what happened."
There was, as Jack said, "half a moon," and by the light of this he was able to see, as he glanced over the part of the bridge he had traversed, a place where a plank had fallen out. A gap was left—a gap wide enough to have allowed a horse's leg to slip through, with disastrous results to animal and rider.
"Well, Sunger, old boy," went on Jack, "did we do that; did it just happen of itself; or was it done on purpose?"
For, in a second's flash, there had come to him his father's warning.
"Well, if it's some one after my job, it's a mean trick they have played in trying to get it," mused Jack, aloud. "I wouldn't so much mind for myself, for I guess I could have swum out all right. But I guess you'd have been pretty well banged up, old boy," and he patted his pony, which now had gotten over his first fright.
Jack, whose wildly-beating heart had now somewhat calmed itself, stood beside his faithful pony and considered what his next move had best be. Among other thoughts was the one that he must, in some way, repair the bridge so that any one coming after him would not slip through the holes left where the misplaced planks had fallen into the stream.
"I can get a couple of logs or some big branches in the woods," thought
Jack, "and stick them in the holes."
Instinctively he looked to see if the mail and express pouches were safe. Yes, there they were on the saddle front. None of them had slipped off when the pony rider himself had so narrowly escaped.