The boy hesitated a moment and then said:
"Why, I really don't know, Doctor—we just wanted to. You see, there are so many things to see and listen to at night that way. Birds and animals, I mean. Ned and I are going to be explorers some day, you know."
"Hum!" said the doctor.
"Well, that will do for the present, Williams. I hope you understand that you are escaping serious trouble very easily and that you mean to be as good as you can for the rest of the time you are at the school."
Fanner Field received Ned and Dick with an air of gruffness that was belied by twinkling blue eyes and, when Ned had finished telling his story and offered to pay for the chicken, said:
"Did you take that chicken out of my poultry-house?"
"Not exactly, but it's the same thing. We knew about it and helped eat it."
"Was it tender?" asked the farmer.
"No, sir, it was the toughest thing I ever put in my mouth."
"I thought so. Why, that rooster was a regular antique. He must have been a hundred years old. Next time you want a chicken for a late supper, better let me choose it for you. Who helped you eat that rooster?"