Upon his return, he had intended to tell her of the incidents of his walk, but her words had made him understand the recital would only add to her worry, and he had refrained. But alone in his room, his mind reverted to the discovery of Mr. Montgomery and his brother-in-law, searching the ground by the bank.
"I wish I knew what it was they were hunting for," he muttered to himself. "It must have been either valuable or important for them to want to find it to-night, instead of waiting till to-morrow, when they could search by daylight."
Then his chum's repetition of what his father had said, in regard to Mr. Montgomery's going into the bank after hours, recurred to him, and with it an idea so startling that he sat up in bed.
"If he and Charlie Gibbs go to the bank now, why couldn't they have done so after father failed? They may be the ones who took father's money on that bogus check!"
Amazing as this thought was, in the light of the evening's discovery it seemed plausible. But the boy was too shrewd not to know that, in order to obtain credence for such an accusation against the only millionaire within a radius of fifty miles of Baxter, it would be necessary for him to present overwhelming proof; and he dropped off to sleep, vowing to obtain the evidence.
With the arrival of the mail the next morning, Fred received a letter from his father.
As he recognized the handwriting, he uttered an exclamation of delight, but his pleasure quickly disappeared as he perused the contents.
"Your father isn't hurt or ill?" queried Mrs. Markham, in alarm, as she noted the change of expression on her son's face.
"No; he's well."
"Then, what is it? Let me have the letter."