“Why don’t you pass it around?” demanded Case. “Let us in on the laugh!”
“You all know what I did with the articles we found on Chet,” Clay responded. “Well, when I took the valuables out of the leather bag, I put burrs from the repair kit and pieces of broken dishes into the bag and hid it where I thought Chet might find it if he looked long enough.”
“I don’t see anything funny in that,” observed Case, with a frown.
“Just wait! When I looked for the bag, just now, it was gone, and the next thing I hear is that Chet has taken to his heels. You see what has happened!”
“The poor little chap!” exclaimed Case. “I’m sorry for him.”
“So am I,” Clay agreed, “but he ought to have been honest with us.”
“We knew what to expect,” Jule suggested. “He said he’d get the gems back if he could, didn’t he? Now he thinks he’s got them, and is lugging off a lot of truck not worth a cent! I call that a shame!”
Clay looked thoughtful for a second and then burst out:
“But is he? Look here, fellows,” he went on, excitedly, “suppose he never took the bag at all! Suppose Chet found it and changed his mind about running off with it! Suppose one of the visitors took it! Suppose that is what they were here for; suppose Chet missed it as soon as they went away and chased on after them!”
“You said the visitors were bankers!” exploded Jule. “What about that?”