ht came a loud shouting from the barn, followed by the
report of a shotgun. This was followed by a shriek from Sarah, the
cook, who was afraid that burglars had come to murder her.

"What's that?" questioned Dick, as he hopped out of bed.

"That's Jack Ness' gun," answered Tom. "Something must be wrong at the
barn."

"Chicken thieves again--I'll bet a new hat," said Sam. By this time
Randolph Rover and his wife were up and were lighting a lamp. Without
waiting for them, the boys slipped on some clothing and their shoes
and ran downstairs. Dick took with him a pistol and each of the others
a baseball bat.

"Boys! boys! be careful!" shouted their uncle after them.

"All right," returned Dick, readily.

He was the first outside, but Sam and Tom were close upon his heels.
He heard Jack Ness running to the edge of a cornfield, shouting
lustily. Then came another report of the shotgun.

"What is it, Jack?" shouted Dick. "Who are you shooting at?"

"I'm after two men," was the hired man's reply. "They jest run into
the cornfield."

"Chicken thieves?" queried Tom.

"I guess so--anyway they was prowlin' around the hen house an' the
barn. I called an' asked 'em what they wanted and they ran for dear
life--so I knew they was up to no good."

"They certainly must have been chicken thieves, or worse," was Sam's
comment. "Really, this is getting to be too much," he added. "We ought
to catch them and have them locked up."

"I'm willing to go after them," answered Tom, readily.

"Did you get a good look at the rascals?" asked Dick.

"Not very good," answered Jack Ness.

"They weren't boys, were they?"

"No--they were men--both tall and heavy fellows."

"Did you ever see them before?" asked Tom. "Not that I can remember."

While they were talking the party of four had run down to the edge of
the cornfield. This spot was really a peach orchard, but the trees
were still so small that the ground was being utilized that season for
corn, planted in rows between the trees. The corn was not yet full
grown, but it was high enough to conceal a man lying flat or crouching
down.

The sky was filled with stars and the old moon was beginning to show
over the hills beyond the valley, so it was fairly light across the
field. The boys kept their eyes on the corn and the peach trees, but
failed to discover any persons moving among them.

"My shotgun is empty--maybe I had better go back and load up," said
the hired man.

"Yes,