"Let us run down the road a bit, fellows," suggested Shep.
"Will ye come back?" asked the farmer, anxiously. "I—-er—-I won't say nuthin' about them apples."
"Yes, we'll be back," answered Snap.
The boys spent the best part of an hour on the road, hunting up and down for some trace of the negro, but without success. They knew he was short and stocky and wore a light, checked suit, but that was all.
When they returned to the farmhouse they heard Mrs. Lundy's story in detail. She had been on the point of sweeping the sitting-room when the negro had appeared and asked for Mr. Lundy. She had told him her husband was out, and then the colored man had wanted something to eat. She had refused to give him anything, and then, seeing the watch on the mantelpiece, he had snatched the timepiece and run. She had screamed for assistance and then fainted from excitement.
"Was the watch a valuable one?" asked Snap.
"Yes, it was," answered Simon Lundy. "It was gold and given to me by my father years ago. I wouldn't take a hundred dollars fer it nohow. I was mighty careless to leave it on the mantelpiece, but I didn't want to carry it around in the orchard when I picked apples."
"What will you do about it?" asked Shep.
"I dunno. Go tew teown an' tell the constable, I guess. Be yeou goin' to town?"
"No; we are off on a hunting trip," answered Giant. "And, by the way, we had better be getting back to the boat," he added to his chums.