my hoard remained safe, amply repaid me. I was
particularly pleased when I saw from the appearance of the oats that
they had been repeatedly dug over.

As I had to go to the granary every night and morning for corn, or oats,
I had an opportunity to visit my store without roundabout journeys or
suspicious trips, which my numerous and vigilant enemies would have been
certain to note.

The hay-mow was Halse's hoarding-place throughout the season, and
although I was never but once able to find his preserve, Addison could
always discover it whenever he deemed it worth while to make the search.

To ensure fair play with the early apples, the Old Squire had made a
rule that none of us should shake the trees, or knock off apples with
poles or clubs. So we all had equal chances to secure those apples which
fell off, and the prospect of finding them beneath the trees was a great
premium on early rising in the months of August and September.

I will go on in advance of my story proper to relate a queer incident
which happened in connection with those early apples and our rivalry to
get them, the following year. The August Sweeting tree stood apart from
the other trees, near the wall between the orchard and the field, so
that fully half of the apples that dropped from it fell into the field
instead of into the orchard.

We began to notice early in August that no apples seemed to drop off in
the night on the field side of the wall.

For a long time every one of us supposed that some of the others had
got out ahead of the rest and picked them up. But one morning Addison
mentioned the circumstance at the breakfast table, as being rather
singular; and when we came to compare notes, it transpired that none of
us had been getting any apples, mornings, on the field side of the wall.

"Somebody's hooking those apples, then!" exclaimed Addison. "Now who can
it be?" For we all knew that a good many apples must fall into the
field.

"I'll bet it's Alf Batchelder!" Halse exclaimed. But it did not seem
likely that Alfred would come a mile, in the night, to "hook" a few
August Sweets, when he had plenty of apples at home.

Nor could we think of any one among our young neighbors who would be
likely to come constantly to take the apples, although any one of them
in passing might help himself, for fall apples were regarded much as
common property in our neighborhood.

Yet every morning, while there would be a peck or more of Sweetings o