We knew this must be the one, for we had found this book lying
on the table, with the name 'Winn Caspar' written all over the
fly-leaf, as though some one had been practising the signature. Sure
enough, a man who said his name was 'Winn Caspar' turned up this
morning, bringing a friend with him. They told a straight enough story
of how their raft had been stolen near St. Louis, and described it
perfectly. They even described the interior of this 'shanty' and
everything in it, including this identical book, as though they had
lived here all their lives. So, of course, both the Marshal and we
thought it was all right; and I don't see even now, if this is your
raft, how those fellows knew all about it as they did. The only thing
they slipped up on was the broken door, and they owned they couldn't
account for that. It seems as if some one must have boarded the raft
before we did and broken into the 'shanty.' The men said there wasn't
anything missing, though. Perhaps you can tell us what has been
stolen."
"No," replied Billy Brackett, "I can't tell that, but I can tell who
broke in that door. I can also relate a tale of adventure and
misadventure in connection with this raft that would excite the envy of
any member of the Second Division, including even the Baldheads, and
you, who were the most reckless young scapegrace of the lot.
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