why should he have run when you hailed him?"
"That's what I can't understand," replied Sandy. "It's sort of suspicious; ain't it?"
"It surely is. Come on, let's have a look."
Together they went down the road in the direction taken by the mysterious stranger. But, though they looked on both sides, and peered amid the bushes, they saw no one. They called out, demanding to know who had gone past the house; but of course, in case the man was a suspicious character, they could hardly have expected an answer.
Their shouts, though, brought out Paul, who had not yet gone to bed, and he joined in the search.
"Who do you think he was?" the moving picture actor asked of Sandy, when they had given up the attempt to find the man.
"Oh, he might be some tramp. There's been chicken thieves around lately, and maybe he was lookin' for a chance to sneak into our hen-house."
"Well, I guess you've scared him off, at any rate," said the manager.
"There's an idea for a film," said Paul, with a laugh. "We can have a chicken-stealing. The thief gets caught in a bear trap, and can't get loose—farmer comes out with gun—chase over the fields and all that."
