“And we came close to burning it up!” groaned Ned. “Oh, Joe, I am so sorry!”
“It's not your fault, Ned, I was as much to blame as anybody. But who would look for the box out here?”
“Perhaps some wild animal carried it off.”
“That may be.”
Joe had the box cleaned off by this time. It was still hot at one end and smoking. He tried to pull it open, but found it locked.
“The contents will burn up before I can open it!” cried Joe.
He did not know what to do, and in desperation began to pry at the box with his stick and his jackknife. Then the box broke open, scattering some half-burnt papers in all directions.
The boys picked the papers up and also a small bag of buckskin. When Joe opened the bag he found it contained exactly a hundred dollars in gold.
“That's a nice find,” said Ned. “Anyway, you are a hundred dollars richer than you were.”
Joe began to peruse the half-burnt documents but could make little or nothing out of them. He saw his own name and also that of a certain William A. Bodley, and an estate in Iowa was mentioned.