feared he should lose it.

CHAPTER XVI

A LOST MONKEY

Even though her husband was wounded, Aunt Olive could not stop to offer
any aid while her precious ducks were in such peril, as the breaking of
the laths proved they were; and she started forward alone and unarmed,
save with the shovel, until a loud quacking indicated that the robber
had made at least one prisoner.

Dropping the shovel, but still clinging to the candle, Aunt Olive seized
the gun, and, dragging it along by the muzzle, she cried:

"I'll shoot you if you don't let them ducks alone, and go right straight
away from here!"

The loud quacking of another duck proved that she had not alarmed the
burglar; and as she was now quite near the bold robber, by holding her
candle above her head she could discern in the darkness what looked like
a boy, with a duck tightly clutched in each hand.

"It's only a boy," she cried to Uncle Daniel, who had given over
attending to his foot, and was coming up; and then, as she ran towards
the thief, she cried, "Put down them ducks, you little rascal, or I will
whip you soundly!"

The boy did not put the ducks down, nor did he stay for the whipping;
but, with both the noisy prizes held in one hand, he began to climb the
hen-house in a manner surprising in one so small.

By this time both Toby and Uncle Daniel were on the spot, and the former
saw that the supposed boy was using a long tail in his work of climbing
the hen-house.

"It's Mr. Stubbs's brother; don't shoot him!" he cried, forgetting, in
his excitement, that the gun was dangerous only when dropped on one's
foot; and then he too tried to climb upon the hen-house.

"The monkey?" cried Uncle Daniel, as he felt on his forehead for his
spectacles to enable him to see better. Aunt Olive made use of almost
the same words; but, instead of feeling for her spectacles, she ran
towards the building, as if she fancied it to be the easiest thing in
the world to catch a mischievous monkey.

Toby knew, if Aunt Olive did not, that it would be the work of some time
to catch Mr. Stubbs's brother, and that no threats would induce him to
come down. Therefore he put forth all his energies in the vain hope of
overtaking him.

Although the monkey was encumbered by the two ducks he had stolen, he
could climb twice as fast as Toby could, and Aunt Olive realized the
fact very soon.

"Scare him till he drops the ducks," she cried to Toby; and then, to do
her portion o