ent. Dick was earnestly engaged in overcoming his repugnance to
locomotion, when he was startled by hearing the door of the building,
which he had carefully closed, open slowly. Looking up hastily, the hoe
still in his hand, his dismayed glance fell upon Frank Frost, entering
with a lantern.

A half-exclamation of surprise and dismay escaped him. This called the
attention of Frank, who till that moment was unsuspicious of Dick's
presence.

"Dick Bumstead!" he exclaimed, as soon as he recognized the intruder.
"What brings you here at this time of night?"

"A mean errand, Frank," returned Dick, with a wholesome feeling of
shame. He had made up his mind to a confession.

"You didn't come here to--to----" Here Frank stopped short.

"No, not to steal. I ain't quite so mean as that comes to. I come to let
out your pigs, so that in the morning you would have a long chase after
them."

"But what could put such a thing into your head, Dick?" asked Frank, in
great surprise.

"I thought it would be a good joke."

"It wouldn't have been much of a joke to me," said Frank.

"No; and to tell the truth it wouldn't have been to me. The fact is,
and I don't mind telling it, that I should never have thought of such a
thing if somebody else hadn't put it into my head."

"Somebody else?"

"Yes; I'd a little rather not tell who that somebody is, for I don't
believe he would like to have you know."

"Why didn't he come himself?" asked Frank. "It seems to me he's been
making a catspaw of you."

"A catspaw?"

"Yes, haven't you read the story? A monkey wanted to draw some chestnuts
out of the hot ashes, but, feeling a decided objection to burning his
own paws in the operation, drew a cat to the fire and thrust her paw
in."

"I don't know but it's been so in my case," said Dick. "I didn't want to
do it, and that's a fact. I felt as mean as could be when I first came
into your yard to-night. But he offered me two dollars to do it, and
it's so seldom I see money that it tempted me."

Frank looked puzzled. "I don't see," he said thoughtfully, "how anybody
should think it worth while to pay two dollars for such a piece of
mischief."

"Perhaps he don't like you, and wanted to plague you," suggested Dick.

The thought at once flashed upon Frank that John Haynes must be
implicated. He was the only boy who was likely to have two dollars
to invest in this way, and the suggestion offered by Dick of personal
enmity was sufficient to