r a queer
sound under such conditions as these it seems different from anything
you ever ran up against. Bluff thought it was a dog chained up; you
say a peacock; and for my part I hardly know what to believe."

"Anyhow, Frank, I got him all right," chuckled Will.

"Meaning the old hermit, of course," said the other. "I thought I
heard your shutter click. It will be worth something to say you took
his picture as well as that you got one of his peculiarly built house,
which I reckon few people have ever so much as seen."

"But after all's said and done, Frank, old Aaron isn't just the kind
of man I always thought a real hermit must be. Why, he's a gentleman,
and not a bit careless of his appearance, the way most of them are
described to be. He dotes on books, they say. And oh, Frank! did you
hear him admit he was fond of dabbling in amateur photography
himself?"

"Yes, that was what he said, Will."

"I wish I could make a good impression on old Aaron, then, because
like as not he'd have some dandy pictures to show. He's got rafts of
money, you know, and must have traveled a heap in his time."

Frank laughed at hearing this.

"Now I wouldn't be surprised," he remarked, "if you tried to get thick
with our hermit before we shut up shop at Cabin Point!"

"I own I'd like to, though I don't think I'll have much of a chance,
Frank, because you see he's shut down on us, and forbidden us to ever
look in on him after this. Now what do you reckon ails the man, and
why should he act in that way? He must have just soured on the world
for some reason or other."

They passed outside, and allowed the loose board to fall back into its
place again. Unless one were looking for a break in the fence it would
be possible to pass by without noticing anything wrong there.

"But now since he knows some of us were in his grounds twice,"
lamented Will, "old Aaron may give his men orders to search all around
till they find the break. If they had any sense at all they could
follow our tracks and come to it. But, Frank, how about taking a swing
around on the way home?"

"You spoke of that before, Will, and as we have plenty of time I don't
know any reason we shouldn't make something of a circuit. I'm as
curious as you can be to see something of the country."

"Likely none of us will ever be up this way again," remarked Will,
"and so we'd better make the most of our opportunities. Besides,
there's no telling what cracker-jack chances we