“How did it get into the cave then?” asked Mr. Porter.
“Somebody put it there if it didn’t fall there,” volunteered Pepper.
“Of course,” said the doctor.
“Somebody might have put it in the cave,” agreed Hal reflectively. “We weren’t the first ones to discover the place.”
“How do you know?” inquired Dr. Byrd quickly.
“By the plank we found in the bushes. It was there for a bridge, that was plain. Somebody’s been using the cave for something.”
Exclamations of surprise greeted this information.
“Did you find anything in the cave that tended to prove your suspicion?” asked Mr. Frankland.
“Nothing except the leather bag.”
Hal hoped that his suggestions would arouse the interest of Dr. Byrd to such an extent that he would decide upon further investigation, but he was disappointed. If the owner of Lakefarm felt any such desire, he failed to express it.