Fatty Nolan, whose rapid-fire talk had taken Teddy and the others by surprise, raced toward a man who was crossing one end of the meadow into the woods. The man had a rope, as the boys and girls could notice. But he did not appear to be a cowboy.  
“I’m going to help him catch that steer!” cried Fatty.
 
A little later he and the man, whom Teddy and his friends did not know, disappeared in the woods where the deer had first been seen.
 
“Well, what do you make of this?” asked Teddy of his chums.
 
“You’ve got me,” replied Dick. “Fatty Nolan? Who is he, anyhow?”
 
“I never saw him before,” said Joe. “He must have just come to Oakdale.”
 
59 “He seems friendly enough,” said Lucy.
 
“Didn’t he talk fast!” laughed Margie. “And isn’t he fat?”
 
“His name sure fits him!” agreed Teddy. “But I’d like to know how many wild animals there are running loose around here? First we see a deer and now Fatty Nolan tells us about a steer.”
 
“I think it’s the same thing,” suggested Joe. “The man must have said deer and Fatty took it to be steer.”
 
“Having seen the man with a lasso,” spoke Dick, “Fatty would naturally think of a runaway steer. But I believe the man must have said deer. You’re right, Joe.”
 
“Then he’s after the deer,” Teddy remarked. “And I guess that’s about the end of the mystery.”
 
“If the man catches him,” said Joe. “He might not, you know. That deer is a fast runner.”
 
“That’s right,” Teddy agreed. “Maybe he can’t catch the deer, and our club will still60 have a chance to do it and solve the mystery.”
 
“Do you think it is much of a mystery?” asked Margie.
 
“You can’t tell,” said Lucy. “We didn’t think the dog was going to be a mystery, did we, Teddy?”
 
“No. Nor the pony and parrot, either. But they both turned out to be swell mysteries,” said Teddy.
 
“And I think the deer will,” declared Joe.
 
“Besides, the deer, there’s this mystery about Fatty Nolan,” said Dick. “Who is he, anyhow?”
 
This small mystery was soon solved. For though Fatty and the man with the rope did not appear again for some time, as the boys and girls were coming from the lane into the main highway they met Mr. Mason once more. The farmer was in a small auto and stopped to ask if the Mystery Club wanted a ride home.
 
“Thanks. If you will drop us off in town,61 near Mrs. Traddle’s store, we’ll be much obliged,” said Teddy.
 
“Why do you want to get out at Mrs. Traddle’s store?” asked Dick.
 
“Because I’m going to treat this club to sodas,” Teddy answered. “We’ve had a hard day. A soda will be good for us.”
 
“Fine!” chorused his chums.
 
“Do you mean us, too?” asked Margie.
 
“Of course,” laughed Lucy’s brother.
 
“What club is this?” asked Mr. Mason when they were all in his car.
 
“Oh, the deer mystery club,” Teddy explained. “You know. The deer that was in your meadow.”
 
“Oh, yes. Well, he’d better keep out of my garden! Did you see the deer again?”
 
“No but we saw a man with a rope who was running after him, I guess,” Joe said.
 
“Hum! Just as I thought! A stray deer got out of a railroad car,” said the farmer. “Well, I hope they catch him.”
 
62 “Who is this new boy, Fatty Nolan?” asked Teddy.
 
“Nolan? A fat lad? Why, he’s the son of Samuel Nolan who is a farmer I hired to work part of my place on shares. The Nolan family just moved here yesterday. Came from over Portchester way. They’re occupying that little old house where Mr. Huntley used to live. So you’ve met the fat boy, eh?”
 
Teddy told of the meeting and something of the stout lad.
 
“Yes, he is quite a talker, I noticed that,” said Mr. Mason. “Well, here you are at Mrs. Traddle’s.”
 
“Thanks for the ride,” Teddy said. “Won’t you come in and have a soda?”
 
“Thanks, no. I’ve got to get along. But if you see that deer, I hope you capture him, or help that man to do it. I don’t want a deer messing up my garden and cornfields.”
 
The boys and girls crowded into Mrs. Traddle’s small store.
 
63 “I’m glad............