presently it chanced that one who was there among the young men , espied in the hands of leelinau , who had plucked it indifferently , one of the crooked kind , and at once the word " wa - ge - min ! " was shouted aloud through the field , and the whole circle was set in a roar . " the thief is in the corn - field ! " exclaimed the young man , iagoo by name , and famous in the tribe for his mirthful powers of story - telling ; " see you not the old man stooping as he enters the field ? see you not signs that he crouched as he crept in the dark ? is it not plain by this mark on the stalk that he was heavily bent in his back ? old man ! be nimble , or some one will take thee while thou art taking the ear . " these questions iagoo accompanied with the action of one bowed with age stealthily entering the corn - field . he went on : " see how he stoops as he breaks off the ear . nushka ! he seems for a moment to tremble . walker , be nimble ! hooh ! it is plain the old man is the thief . " he turned suddenly where she sat in the circle , pensively regarding the crooked ear which she held in her hand , and exclaimed : " leelinau , the old man is thine ! " laughter rung merrily through the corn - field , but leelinau , casting down upon the ground the crooked ear of maize , walked pensively away . the next morning the eldest son of a neighboring chief called at her father 's lodge . he was quite advanced in years ; but he enjoyed such renown in battle , and his name was so famous in the hunt , that the parents accepted him as a suitor for their daughter . 
the old man .
who was believed to be the corn thief ?
who was believed to be the corn thief ?