"If we took your bag it must have been by mistake," said Randy. "I looked at the markings pretty carefully though."
"Well, we'll make sure," remarked Jack, and brought out a flashlight which he had taken from his own suitcase for possible use on the road. He flashed the light in the direction of the six suitcases, and he and his chums looked over all of the markings with care.
"How is your bag marked?" questioned Gif.
"Well, you can see for yourself that there is no such marking on any of these bags," declared Jack. "There is my own. These two belong to Andy and Randy. This is Fred's, and here is Gif's and that one is Spouter's."
"Maybe they've got it hidden under the blankets, or something like that," suggested Glutts.
"There are no other suitcases in this boxsled," declared Gif flatly.
"You'll do nothing of the sort, Gabe Werner!" and now, with flashing eyes, Gif raised his whip as if to bring it down over the bully's head.
"Hold on, Gif! Don't do anything like that," advised Jack. "Let them look around the sled if they want to. Then they will know we're telling the truth. If we go off without giving them a chance to look, they may complain to the authorities here and make a lot of trouble for us."
"All right, then, go ahead and look," answered Gif, leaping from the boxsled. "But don't you harm any of our things, or you'll hear from me."
Jack flashed the light into the sled, and Werner and Glutts made an examination of the contents. Of course, they found no other baggage, and so drew back in disgust.
"I don't understand it," said Werner lamely. "I left that bag there in the station master's care while I and the others went to get something to eat. Now my bag is gone."
"Well, that is none of our affair," answered Jack. "Come on, fellows, it's getting late. Let's be on the way."
"I'll get that bag back, or I'll make the station master pay for it," grumbled Gabe Werner, and then he and his cronies turned on their heels and walked back in the direction of the railroad station.
"Gee! somebody must have walked off with his bag while he was eating," remarked Fred. "Rather tough luck if he had anything of real value in it."
"Serves him right--for being so cross and cranky," was Andy's comment. But the bag had not been stolen. It had been simply misplaced, as was afterwards proven.