lay and pictured the fight between himself and the deputy sheriff which had not taken place. He was sorry it had not materialized, though he felt no bitterness toward Mr. Brown. He rather liked Mr. Brown now, in fact. But what a fine fight it would have been. The thought suggested to him the great fight in “Rodney Stone,” which he tried to remember, only to find that the details had become obscure in his mind. He left his bed and went downstairs with the intention of fetching the book from the library. He was surprised to find his mother busily engaged in locking and double bolting the front door.

“What’s the idea, mother?” he asked. “Why lock that old door now for the first time since it was hung on its hinges?”

She told him of the disappearance of the ham and bread.

“But wasn’t one of the dogs in the house?” he asked.

“Yes, Red Chief was in the kitchen; and he didn’t make a sound,” she answered. “He must have mistaken the thief for a friend, for you know how he is about strangers. It has made me nervous, Ben.”

“And nothing was taken except the ham and bread?”

“I haven’t missed anything else.”

“It can’t be much of an enemy, whoever it is, to let us off as easy as that. It sounds more like a hungry friend to me.”

“You are thinking of Richard Sherwood, Ben.”

“Yes, mother. He might be hanging ’round and not want even us to suspect it. It’s an old trick I guess, from what I’ve read—not going as far away as the police expect you to.”

“But Red Chief doesn’t know Richard Sherwood. It was Red Chief’s grandfather, I think, that Mr. Sherwood used to take out when he went shooting. I believe he trained several of the red dogs to the gun. He had a wonderful way with animals.”

“Do you think that any of our neighbors are hungry enough to steal from us, mother? It never happened before. They always came and asked for anything they wanted.”

“I am sure it was not a neighbor. I can’t understand it. I am afraid, Ben.”

Ben felt no anxiety concerning their safety or that of their property but he was puzzled. He could not think of any explanation of Red Chief’s behavior. He did not draw his mother’s attention to the fact 

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