Part 4 (1/2)

As Jack neared the ive ith the pony In an instant he clapped his heels to the side of the horse, and slapped hi forward, and only just in tih a hole in the bridge where a plank had fallen off into the stream below And had the pony fallen Jack would probably have been thrown over the bridge railing into the water

CHAPTER IV

IMPORTANT LETTERS

”Whoa! Steady old boy! Easy now!”

Thus Jack exclaihtly to restrain Sunger

The pony snorted, whinnied, and, after prancing about a few moments, stood still

”That's better!” commented Jack ”Now let's see what happened”

There was, as Jack said, ”half a lanced over the part of the bridge he had traversed, a place where a plank had fallen out A gap was left--a gap wide enough to have allowed a horse's leg to slip through, with disastrous results to anier, old boy,” went on Jack, ”did we do that; did it just happen of itself; or was it done on purpose?”

For, in a second's flash, there had co

”Well, if it's some one after et it,” mused Jack, aloud ”I wouldn't so uess I could have swued up, old boy,” and he patted his pony, which now had gotten over his first fright

Jack, whose wildly-beating heart had now somewhat calmed itself, stood beside his faithful pony and considered what his next hts was the one that heafter hih the holes left where the et a couple of logs or soht Jack, ”and stick them in the holes”

Instinctively he looked to see if the mail and express pouches were safe

Yes, there they were on the saddle front None of them had slipped off when the pony rider himself had so narrowly escaped

Then, with a quick motion, Jack's hand went to the breast pocket of his coat, where he had placed the se To his consternation he felt no bulky protuberance there, such as would have been made by the parcel

”Whehistled Jack ”Great Scott! I hope I haven't lost that!”

It was very possible that heforward on his pony's neck, as he leaned over to save hie could easily have slipped from his pocket

In a veritable frenzy of alar he ht, by some chance, have thrust the valuable parcel into one other than the first he had selected as being the most secure But it was not to be found

”Just my luck!” he cried aloud ”It's lost This will end my services as a pony express rider!”

His steed whinnied, thinking, perhaps, that histo him, as Jack frequently did Indeed, the lad often talked to his horse as one er understood as one, it's gone,” Jack said, sadly enough ”And it wasn't e were loose It's lucky Sunger felt theht both be lying solanced back to the place where the accident had so nearly occurred In the gleam of the moon he could see two black streaks in the otherwise level flooring of the bridge, the planks of which hite fro of the sun and the dust of the h,” ht coe of one of the black openings, a sht object

”Jove! If that could be it!” he murmured Cautiously he started toward it, in fear lest the vibration of his steps jar the sealed packet into the stream, for that it was the sealed packet Jack now felt sure

As the lad started forward his horse followed hier