"For obvious reasons Jeff wished his presence kept a secret, and Rad and Mose respected his wishes. After the robbery Radnor was too sick at the thought that his brother may have betrayed him, to want to do anything but hush the matter up. At the news of the murder he did not know what to think; he would not believe Jeff guilty, and yet he did not see any other way out." Terry paused a moment and leaned forward with an excited gleam in his eye. "That," he said, "is the whole truth about ghost number one. Our business now is to track down number two, and here, as a starter are the missing bonds." He tossed a pile of mildewed papers on the bed and met my astonishment with a triumphant chuckle. It was true--all five of the missing bonds were there, the May first coupons still uncut. Also the deeds and insurance policy, exactly as they had left the safe, except that they were damp and mud-stained. I stared for a moment too amazed to speak. Finally, "Where did you find them?" I gasped. Terry regarded me with a tantalizing laugh. "Exactly where I thought I'd find them. Oh, I've been out early this morning! I saw the sun rise, and breakfasted in Kennisburg at six forty-five. I'm ready for another breakfast though. Hurry up and dress. We've got a day's work before us. I'm off to the stables to talk 'horses' with Uncle Jake; when you're ready for breakfast send Solomon after me." "Terry," I implored, "where on the face of the earth did you find those bonds?" "At the mouth of the passage to hell," said Terry gravely, "but I'm not quite sure myself who put them there." "Mose?" I queried eagerly. "It might have been--and it might not." He waved his hand airily and withdrew. CHAPTER XX POLLY MAKES A CONFESSION At breakfast Terry drank two cups of coffee and subsided into thought. I could get no more from him on the subject of the bonds; he was not sure himself, was all the satisfaction he would give. When the meal was half over, to Solomon's dismay, he suddenly rose without noticing a new dish of chicken livers that had just appeared at his elbow. "Come on," he said impatiently, "you've had enough to eat. I've got to see those marks while they're still there. I'm desperately afraid an earthquake will swallow that cave before I get a chance at them." Fifteen minutes later we were bowling down the lane behind the fastest pair of horses in the Gaylord stables, and through the prettiest country in the State of Virginia. Terry sat with his hands in his pockets and his eyes on the dash-board. As we came to the four corners at the valley-pike I reined in. "Would you rather go the short way over the mountains by a very rough road, or the long way through Kennisburg?" I inquired. "What's that?" he asked. "Oh, the short way by all means--but first I want to call at the Mathers's." "It would simply be a waste of time."