He blinked his eyes some more and looked again . All he saw in that hollow stump was a feather . The fat hen had vanished . All Reddy 's dreams of a good dinner vanished too . A great rage took their place . Somebody had stolen his fat hen ! Reddy looked about him hurriedly and anxiously . There was n't a sign of anybody about , or that anybody had been there . Reddy 's anger began to give place to wonder and then to something very like fear . How could anybody have taken that fat hen and left no trace ? And how could a fat hen with a broken neck disappear of its own accord ? It gave Reddy a creepy feeling . CHAPTER XL WHERE WAS REDDY 'S DINNER ? Often it is better to look for a new trail than to waste time hunting for an old one . Bowser the Hound . Reddy Fox is used to all sorts of queer happenings . Yes , Sir , he is used to all sorts of queer happenings , and as a rule Reddy is seldom puzzled for long . You see he is such a clever fellow himself that any one clever enough to fool him for long must be very clever indeed . This time , however , all the cleverness of his sharp wits did him no good . The fat hen he had hidden in a hollow stump had disappeared without leaving trace .
XXXXX 's first thought was that probably the farmer from whom he had stolen the fat hen had found it and taken it away .
Bowser Fox Reddy Sir accord eyes left neck rage stump