The Green Forest tribune., 1915-08-27

l heard voice, and raising my hand we both halted suddenly.
 someone is there," I wbisnered quickly. Behind that rock" She nodded in the affirmative, for she too had heard the voice.
 We listened, but the sound was mt repeated. That someone was on the other side of the rock I knew for in a tree in the vicinity thrush was hon. ping from twig to twig, sounding it's alarm-cry. and objecting to being dis turbed.
 Therefore we crept silently forward together to ascertain who were the in- truders. The only manner, however. in which to get a view beyond the huge rock that, having fallen across the stream centuries ago, had diverted it's channel, was to chamber up it's messy sides to the summit. This we did ca. gerly and breathlessly, without betray. ing our presence by the utterance of single word and laying ourselves fiat as we came to it's summit,
 Then together we peered over, just. however. in time to see two dark fig- ures of men disappearing into the th1cket on the opposite side of the glen.
 Who are they, wonder?" I asked. Do you recognize them?"
 No. They are entire strangers to me, was her answer. But they seem fairly well dressed Perhaps two sportsmen from some shooting party in the neighborhood. They've lost their way most probably"
 But don't think they carried guns," l said. One of them had something over his shoulder?"
 Wasn't it a gun? I thought it was"
 "No, he wasn't carrying it like he'd carry a gun. It was shorthand seemed more like a spade"
 "A spade!" she gasped quickly in low voice.
 At the moment my eye caught sight of portion of the ground below us ok SiC DdoC OL i1C lOCh HUI udu CFl- dently been recently disturbed.
 "It is a spade the man is carrying!" 1 cried excitedly. Look down there tilGree They've just been burying something!"
 Her quick eyes followed the direc- tion 1 indicated, and she answered: : T really believe they have concealed something!"
 Then when we had allowed the men to get beyond hearing, we both slipped down to the other side of the powder and there discovered many signs that the earth had been hurriedly exca. vated and only just replaced
 Quicker than it takes to describe the exciting incident which followed, we broke down the branch of tree and with it commenced moving the freshly disturbed earth, which was still soft and easily removed.
 Muriel found dead branch in the vicinity, and both of us set to work with will, eager to ascertain what was hidden there. That something had certainly been concealed was, to us, quite evident, but what it really was we could not surmise.
 Digging with a piece of wood was hard and laborious work and it was long time before we removed suffi- cient earth to make a hole of any size. But Muriel exerted all her energy, and both of us worked on in dogged silence full of wonder and anticipation. With spade we should have soon been able to investigate, but the earth having apparently been stamped down hard prior to the last covering being put upon it, our progress was very slow and difficult.
 At last, a quarter of an hour or so after we had commenced, Muriel, standing in the hole and having dug her stake deeply into the ground, sud- denly cried:
 Look! Look, MT. Gregg! Why whatever is that?"
 I bent forward as she indicated, and my eyes met an object so unexpected that Twas held dumb and motionless
 The amazing enigma was surely complete!