"Why, what a strange idea!" exclaimed the old gentleman. "I haven't been down there on the lawn for hours."
"But maybe your voice has," laughed Elsie.
"Oh, here they come to tell us about it," exclaimed Alie Leland, as the lads were seen hurrying back in a very excited way.
"There's nobody there!" cried one. "We searched all about and couldn't find a soul."
"No, indeed, we couldn't, and it's very mysterious, I think," added the other.
"Looks as if he'd run off before you got there," said Ned.
"He couldn't. There wasn't time," panted the foremost lad as they came up the steps of the veranda.
"Well, then, it's his own fault if he misses getting something to eat," said Ned, trying hard to keep from laughing.
"Strange how blind some folks are," remarked the same strange voice, seeming now close to the veranda, and followed by a profound sigh.