was his father, Mr. Period and
Ned.

"Come back! You may get hurt!" urged Mr. Swift. He had aged rapidly in
the last few months, and had been obliged to give up most of his
inventive work. Naturally, he was very nervous about his son.

"Don't worry, dad," replied the youth. "I'm not in much danger when
Koku is around."

"That's right," agreed the moving picture man. "I'd sooner have that
giant look after me than half a dozen policemen."

The noise had now grown fainter, but the sound of the pursuit could
still be heard. Koku was shouting in his hearty tones, and there was
the noise of breaking twigs as the chase wound in and out of the garden
shrubbery.

Tom paused a moment, to let his eyes get somewhat used to the darkness.
There was a crescent moon, that gave a little light, and the snow on
the ground made it possible to notice objects fairly well.

"See anything?" asked Ned, as he joined his chum on the balcony.

"No, but I'm going to have a closer look. Here goes!" and Tom leaped to
the ground.

"I'm with you," added Ned, as he followed.

Then came another voice, shouting:

"Dat's de way! Catch him! I'se comm', I is! Ef we gits him we'll tie
him up, an' let Boomerang walk on him!"

"Here comes Eradicate," announced Tom, with a look back toward his
chum, and a moment later the aged colored man, who had evidently
started on the chase with Koku, but who had been left far behind, swung
totteringly around the corner of the house.

"Did ye cotch him, Massa Tom?" asked Eradicate. "Did ye cotch de
raskil?"

"Not yet, Rad. But Koku is after him. Who was he, and what did he do?"

"Didn't do nuffin yit, Massa Tom, 'case as how he didn't git no
chance," replied the colored man, as he hurried along as rapidly as he
could beside the two youths. "Koku and I was too quick for him. Koku
an' me was a-sittin' in my shack, sort of talkin' togedder, when we
hears a racket neah de chicken house. I'se mighty partial t' de
chickens, an' I didn't want nobody t' 'sturb 'em. Koku was jes' de
same, an' when we hears dat noise, up we jumps, an' gits t' chasm.' He
runned dis way, an' us was arter him, but land lub yo', ole Eradicate
ain't so spry as he uster be an' Koku an' de chicken thief got ahead ob
me. Leastwise he ain't no chicken thief yit, 'case as how he didn't git
in de coop, but he meant t' be one, jes' de same."

"Are you sure he was after the chickens?" asked Tom, with quick
suspicion in his mind, for, several ti