"No. No firewater. Heap worse," said the Indian.
"Can't be anything worse than whisky," declared Cowboy Jack emphatically.
"Bad spirits," said the Indian stubbornly. "In box. Make knocking. White chief come see--come hear."
He called Cowboy Jack a "chief" because the white man owned the big ranch. Rose and Russ listened very earnestly to what the Indian said, and they urged Cowboy Jack to go to the Indian encampment and see what it meant.
"What's a spirit, Russ?" asked his sister.
"Alcohol," declared Russ, proud of his knowledge. "But I don't see how alcohol could knock on a box. It's a liquid--like water, you know."
They trotted after Cowboy Jack and the old Indian and came to the big box that had been locked in preparation for shipping back to the reservation when the Indians got through their job here with the picture company. It looked to be a perfectly innocent box, and at first the children and Cowboy Jack heard nothing remarkable from within it.
"I reckon you were hearing things in your mind, old fellow," said the ranchman to the Indian.
The latter grunted suddenly and pointed to the box. There was a sound that seemed to come from inside. Something made a rat, tat, tat on the cover of the box.
"Goodness me!" murmured Rose, quite startled.
Cowboy Jack sprang forward and tried to open the box.
"Hey!" he exclaimed. "It's locked. Where's the key? When did you lock this box?"
"Black Bear--him lock it. Got key," said the old Indian, keeping well away from the box.
"You go and get that key in a hurry. Somebody is in that box, sure as you live!" cried the ranchman.
"I know! I know!" shouted Russ excitedly. "It's Mun Bun! They have locked him in that box!"
"Oh, poor little Mun Bun!" wailed Rose. "Do--do you suppose the Indians were trying to steal him?"
"Of course not," returned Russ disdainfully. "Mr. Black Bear wouldn't steal anybody. He just didn't know Mun Bun was in there. I guess Mun Bun crawled in by himself."
Then he went close to the big box and shouted Mun Bun's name, and they all heard the little boy reply--but his voice came to them very faintly.
"We'd better get him out in a hurry," said Cowboy Jack anxiously. "The little fellow might easily smother inside that box."
There was great excitement at the Indian camp during the next few minutes. Everybody came running to the spot when they heard that Mun Bun was found but could not be got at. Everybody but Chief Black Bear. He had gone off to a place at some distance from the camp, and a man on pony-back had to go to get him, for Black Bear had the key of the big box.