the first national bank of skowhegan, of which mr. golden was president, is situated on water street. behind it runs the kennebec river through a rock gorge, nearly fifty feet deep. at the time of our story, the bank building was new, having been built only the year before. it was thoroughly modern in every respect, and contained what was supposed to be a burglar-proof vault.

the boys soon distanced the car and in exactly eleven minutes from the time they started were in front of the bank. they found a crowd of several hundred people collected in the street, for such a thing as a bank robbery in skowhegan had never been known, and there was great excitement. hurriedly, they pushed the wheels into a livery stable nearby, which was run by a friend of theirs, and then pushing their way through the crowd, managed to reach the sidewalk, in front of the bank, but here the people were so closely packed, that they were forced to stop.176

"guess we'll have to wait for dad," panted jack, after a vigorous shove had failed to make an opening.

"gee, but this is worse than a football game," declared bob, "but here's dad now," as a big policeman pushed his way through the crowd shouting:

"stand back now and let mr. golden through."

the mass of people slowly gave way, and mr. golden, followed closely by bob and jack, who had grabbed hold of his coat tails as he pushed his way past, finally succeeded in reaching the steps of the bank. the door was at once opened by mr. riggs, the old cashier, and mr. golden and uncle ben, who was with them, entered closely followed by the two boys.

"oh, to think that i should live to see this day!" moaned the cashier, as he closed and locked the door behind them.

"how did they get in?" was mr. golden's first question.

the cashier pointed to the door and a glance was sufficient to disclose the means of entrance. two doors, separated by a small vestibule, led into the bank. the outer door was fitted with a heavy plate glass window, but the inner one was of solid oak. this had been cut through by means of a bit, and a hole about twenty inches in diameter sawed out. a similar opening had been made in the glass of 177the outer door, a circular piece having been cut out, evidently with a diamond, and then, cemented back in again so cleverly, that it was not noticeable except on close inspection.

going to the vault at the rear of the bank, they found an irregular hole, nearly sixteen inches in diameter, through the solid steel door. the edges of this hole had a fused appearance, and mr. golden at once said:

"undoubtedly the work of experts, and they must have used an oxy-acteylene blowpipe flame to cut through that door."

bob had been doing some pretty deep thinking, and now he caught hold of his father's sleeve and said:

"of course, i may be a way off, but i believe that those fellows who kidnapped me are the ones who did this job."

"i think so, too," broke in jack, "we know that they are criminals and what were they doing round here if they weren't up to some such job? you see," he continued, as his father was about to speak, "they didn't come here after those cells, because they didn't know anything about them till they saw the boat the day of the race. i believe they intended to rob the bank in the first place and then they saw our boat and thought that if they could get hold of our secret, it would pay them better 178than this job. that's the way i've got it doped out."

"and i believe jack's right, dad," broke in bob. "something i heard that man reed say just after they got me in the car that night has just come to me. i didn't think much of it at the time; it has never occurred to me till just now."

"what was it?" eagerly asked mr. golden.

"why, we had gone but a little ways when i heard reed say, in a low voice. 'how about that other job, bill?' and king replied angrily, 'shut up, you fool!' then as reed started to say something, he whispered, 'that can wait awhile; it won't spoil.'"

"i really believe the boys are right," declared uncle ben. "there is little doubt in my mind that when you get those two men you will have the robbers of this bank."

"i'll tell you what," broke in bob, "if those two fellows did it, i'll bet a cent they'll go straight to the place where they took me, that we found yesterday. you see they think no one knows about it and that they will be safe there."

"then we'd better get some officers and get after them as quickly as possible," declared uncle ben.

"i guess we might as well try it," assented mr. golden, "seeing it's the only clue we have. mr. riggs, see if mr. switzer is out there and if he is, have him come in, will you?"179

the cashier disappeared, but was back almost immediately, followed by a powerfully built man about forty years old, the chief of police of skowhegan.

"hello, switzer, glad you were at hand," cried mr. golden.

"just got here," panted the officer, who appeared nearly out of breath. "i went over to smithfield fishing early this morning and didn't know about it till i got there, and then i hustled back as fast as i could."

it may be well to explain here, that skowhegan does not have a regular police force who give all their time to it. mr. switzer, besides being chief, was a butcher, and the rest of the force, consisting of five men, held different positions in the town.

mr. golden quickly pointed out what has been described, and then told him of bob's suspicion.

"just the thing to do," he declared. "george and fred are outside and i'll get them and we'll start at once."

"we'll go in my car," said mr. golden. "i guess it's as fast as any in town, and will carry six of us all right, and the boys can go on their wheels, can't you, bob?"

"sure thing," the both replied.

"all right then, that's settled. now let's get off as soon as possible. my car is right over there on the corner."180

they went out and mr. golden and uncle ben at once made their way to the car, while mr. switzer searched through the crowd for his officers. bob and jack hurried to where they had left their wheels and were back at the corner in almost no time, where they were soon joined by the three officers.

"now, where to?" asked the chief, as he took his seat by the driver.

"norridgewock first," answered bob, as he jumped into his saddle, and he added, as he turned on the power, "here's where we break all the speed laws ever made."

"you boys keep within sight of us," shouted mr. golden, as they dashed across the bridge.

in spite of the bad road, they reached norridgewock in nineteen minutes. on the way, mr. golden told uncle ben and the officers that riggs had said that nearly one hundred thousand dollars in cash and negotiable securities had been taken.

they made no stop at norridgewock, but at once took the road leading to oakland. here the going was much better and in a little less than half an hour after leaving norridgewock, they were within a mile of the woods road, which led to the big house. the boys were about a quarter of a mile ahead of the car and stopped here to wait for the rest of the party.181

"are we 'most there?" asked mr. golden, as the car came up to them and stopped.

"yes, it's only about a mile from here, and i thought we'd better stop before we got any nearer, and make our plans," explained bob.

"my idea," said mr. switzer, "is to leave the car by the side of the main road and go the rest of the way on foot. you see," he explained, "if we took it too close they would hear it and skip, that is, providing they're there."

all agreed that this was the best plan.

"now, bob," asked the chief, "how far from the main road is that house?"

"i should say a little more than a quarter of a mile."

"and how large is the clearing round it?"

"at the back the trees grow up close to the house, but in front there is a clearing of perhaps half an acre."

"then, three of us had better get round to the back of the house, while the rest approach it from the front. george, you and bob and mr. golden," indicating uncle ben, "can circle round and get behind. the rest of us will give you plenty of time to get there and then we'll go up to the house and demand admittance."

to this plan all agreed, and they started again, the boys keeping just in front of the car. they had 182gone about a mile, when bob held up his hand for them to stop.

"see that big elm just ahead there?" he asked, pointing with his finger. "well, the road is about ten feet the other side of that tree."

but just then something happened which caused a complete change in their plans.