A man in torn clothing walked into the clearing.   He sat down a bag he had slung over his shoulder.   He took off his shoes and socks and walked over to the creek.   He stepped into the cool water and bent down to scoop up some water to drink.  

He took off his old hat and scooped it into the creek.   He poured the hat full of water over his head and face.   Then he pulled a dirty, old red bandanna handkerchief from his back pocket and dried off his face.

When he stood up, Stuart noticed that the man's clothes were hardly more than rags.   His knees stuck out of holes in his work pants.   His shirt was torn and dirty and his hat was not as good as the one Stuart had on.   Stuart sat still.   He did not move and hardly breathed.

The man opened up the bag he carried.   He pulled out a can of pork and beans, a bread sack with two slices of bread in it and opened up a canteen of water.   He placed the bag on the ground and sat down on it.   He then started opening up the can of beans with a can opener jack knife.

Stuart knew that this man was a hobo.   He had seen men just like this come to the back door of the house and ask Mr. Johnson if they could work for a meal.

"Work for food?" they always asked.

Sometimes Mr. Johnson let them stay on.   When he was busy in the fields, he didn't have time to get all his chores done.   He let the hobo's chop and stack fire wood or clean out the barn for him.   Then Mrs. Johnson made them supper.   They slept in the barn and usually left the next morning.   This man must be on his way up the lane to the house.

The man started eating the beans out of the can.   He used his jack knife to scoop up a mouthful of beans.   He leaned back against a tree, closed his eyes, sighed, and chewed in silence.

Stuart thought that perhaps he could slip away while the man had his eyes closed.   He saw Horace standing still in the thicket.   If he could just get to that thicket and onto Horace's back, they could get away.

Stuart moved his legs very carefully.   He placed one arm on the ground to try and push himself up onto his legs.   The man started to sit up and Stuart stopped moving.   The man had seen movement out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't know what it was.   He turned around and saw Stuart leaning against the tree.

"Well, what do we have here?" asked the man.   "It looks like an old scarecrow."