Chapter XXIV. The Blue Box at Last - Page 2

half-dazed snake came into view.

"There's your animal, Ned!" exclaimed Joe.

"Oh, a snake! Keep him away!" roared Ned, badly frightened.

"He can't hurt you--he is too stiff from the cold," answered our hero, and quickly dispatched the snake with a stone.

"Do you suppose there are any more in the tree?" asked the rich boy, still keeping at a distance.

"More than likely. I'll poke around with my stick and see."

"Be careful!"

"I am not afraid."

Joe's stick had something of a crotch on the end of it and with this he began to rake among the dead leaves that had blown into the hollow log. He brought out a great quantity but no more snakes showed themselves.

"I reckon he was the only one after all, Ned."

"The log is burning!" said Ned, an instant later. "See, the smoke is coming out of the hollow."

"My stick is caught," said Joe, pulling hard on something. "I guess--well, I declare!"

He gave a jerk, and from the hollow came a square object, covered with smoking dirt and leaves.

"What is it?"

"Unless I am mistaken, it is a tin box."

"Oh, Joe, the blue box?"

Joe did not answer for he was brushing the smoking leaves and dirt from the object. As he cleaned it off he caught sight of some blue paint. On one end the box was badly charred from the fire.

"It's the blue box, sure enough," said Joe.

"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.

"What do you find, Joe?"

"I can't tell you, Ned. The papers are too badly