"Did you catch him, Tom?" asked Mr. Swift eagerly when his sonreturned, but the inventor needed but a glance at the lad'sdespondent face to have his question answered without words, "Nevermind," he added, "there's not much harm done, fortunately."
"Did he get anything? Any of your plans or models, dad?"
"No; not as far as I can discover. My papers in the shop were notdisturbed, but it looked as if the turbine model had been moved. Theonly thing missing seems to be a sheet of unimportant calculations.Luckily I had my most valuable drawings in the safe in the house."
"Yet that man seemed to be putting papers in his pocket, dad. Maybehe made copies of some of your drawings."
"That's possible, Tom, and I admit it worries me. I can't imaginewho that man is, unless--"
"Why, he's one of the three men I saw in Mansburg in therestaurant," said Tom eagerly. "Two of them tried to get informationhere, and now the third one comes. He got away in a motor-boat," andTom told how the fugitive escaped.
Mr. Swift looked worried. It was not the first time attempts hadbeen made to steal his inventions, but on this occasion a desperateand well-organized plan appeared to be on foot.
"What do you think they are up to, dad?" asked Tom.
"I think they are trying to get hold of my turbine motor, Tom. Youknow I told you that the financiers were disappointed in the turbinemotor they bought of another inventor. It does not work. To get backthe money they spent in building an expensive plant they must have amotor that is successful. Hence their efforts to get control ofmine. I don't know whether I told you or not, but some time ago Irefused a very good offer for certain rights in my invention. I knewit was worth more. The offer came through Smeak & Katch, thelawyers, and when I refused it they seemed much disappointed. Ithink now that this same firm, and the financiers who have employedthem, are trying by all the means in their power to get possessionof my ideas, if not the invention and model itself."
"What can you do, dad?"
"Well, I must think. I certainly must take some means to protectmyself. I have had trouble before, but never any like this. I didnot think those men would be so unscrupulous."
"Do you know their names?"
"No, only from that telegram we found; the one which the firststranger dropped. One of them must be Anson Morse. Who the othersare I don't know. But now I must make some plans to foil thesesharpers. I may have to call on you for help, Tom."
"And I'll be ready any time you call on me, dad," responded Tom,drawing himself up. "Can I do anything for you right away?"
"No; I must think out a plan."
"Then I am going to change my motor-cycle a bit. I'll put some moreimprovements on it."
"And I will write some letters to my lawyers in Washington and asktheir advice." It took Tom the remainder of that day, and part ofthe next, to arrange the gasolene and spark control of his machineto his satisfaction. He had to make two small levers and someconnecting rods. This he did in his own particular machine shop,which was fitted up with a lathe and other apparatus. The lathe wasrun by power coming from a small engine, which was operated by anengineer, an elderly man to whom Mr. Swift had given employment formany years. He was Garret Jackson, and he kept so close to hisengine and boiler-room that he was seldom seen outside of it exceptwhen the day's work was done.
One afternoon, a few days after the unsuccessful chase after thefugitive had taken place, Tom went out for a spin on hismotor-cycle. He found that the machine worked much better, and waseasier to control. He rode about fifteen miles away from home, andthen returned. As he entered the yard he saw, standing on the drive, aramshackle old wagon, drawn by a big mule, which seemed, at the timeTom observed him, to be asleep.
"I'll wager that's Boomerang," said Tom aloud, and the mule openedits eyes, wiggled its ears and started forward.
"Whoa dar, Boomerang!" exclaimed a voice, and Eradicate Sampsonhurried around the corner of the house. "Dat's jest lake yo'," wenton the colored man. "Movin' when yo' ain't wanted to." Then, as hecaught sight of Tom, he exclaimed, "Why, if it ain't young MistahSwift! Good lordy! But dat livery brake yo' done fixed on mah wagonsuttinly am fine. Ah kin go down de steepest hill widout ropin' dewheel."
"Glad of it," replied Tom. "Did you come to do some work?"
"Yais, sah, I done did. I found I had some time t' spah, an' thinksI dere might be some whitewashin' I could do. Yo' see, I lib only'bout two mile from heah."
"Well, I guess you can do a few jobs," said Tom. "Wait here."
He hunted up his father, and obtained permission to set Eradicate atwork cleaning out a chicken house and whitewashing it. The darky wassoon at work. A little later Tom passing saw him putting thewhitewash on thick. Eradicate stopped at the sight of Tom, and madesome curious motions.
"What's the matter, Rad?" asked the young inventor.
"Why, de whitewash done persist in runnin' down de bresh handle an'inter mah sleeve. I'm soakin' wet from it now, an' I has t' stopebery onct in a while 'case mah sleeve gits full."
Tom saw what the trouble was. The white fluid did run down the longbrush handle in a small rivulet. Tom had once seen a little rubberdevice on a window-cleaning brush that worked well, and he decidedto try it for Eradicate.
"Wait a minute," Tom advised. "I think I can stop that for you."
The colored man was very willing to take a rest, but it did not lastlong, for Tom was soon back at the chicken coop. He had a smallrubber disk, with a ............