stairs they raced, but ere they reached the garden they heard
footsteps running along the wall toward the road.

"Who's there?" cried Tom, but there was no answer.

"Koku! Eradicate!" yelled Ned.

"Yais, sah, I'se comm'!" answered the colored man, and the
voice of the giant was also heard. The flashlights had ceased
popping before this, and when the two lads and their helpers had
reached the shop, there was no one in sight.

"The camera's there all right!" cried Tom in relief as he
picked it up from the box. "Now to see what it caught. Did you
see anything of the fellows, Koku, or Eradicate?" Both said they
had not, but Eradicate, after examining the chicken house door by
the aid of a lighted match, cried out:

"Somebody's been tryin' t' git in heah, Massa Tom. I kin see
where de do's been scratched."

"Well, maybe we'll have the picture for you to look at in the
morning," said Tom.

The films were developed in the usual way in the morning, but
the pictures were so small that Tom could not make out the
features or forms of the men. And it was plain that at least
three men had been around the coop and shop.

By the use of alcohol and an electric fan Tom soon had the