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Page 12
"I don't know what it was, but it went through the side of my house
all the same," insisted Mr. Moker. "It didn't make a hole, but it
scorched the wall paper a little."
"I don't see how it could," declared Tom. "It couldn't possibly have
gone over two hundred feet with the gage set for that distance." He
paused suddenly, and hurried over to where he had placed his gun.
Catching up the weapon he looked at the gage dial. Then he uttered
an exclamation.
"I'm sorry to admit that you are right, Mr. Moker!" he said finally.
"I made a mistake. The gage is set for a thousand feet instead of
two hundred. I forgot to change it. The charge, after passing
through the steel plate, and the scarecrow figure, destroying the
latter, went on, and shot through the side of your house."
"Ha! I knew you were trying to shoot me!" exclaimed the still angry
man. "I'll have the law on you for this!"
"Oh, that's all nonsense!" broke in Ned Newton. "Everybody knows Tom
Swift wouldn't try to shoot you, or any one else, Mr. Moker."
"Then why did he shoot at me?"
"That was a mistake," explained Tom, "and I apologize to you for
it."
"Humph! A lot of good that would do me, if I'd been killed!"
muttered the miser. "I'm going to sue you for this. You might have
put me in my grave."
"Impossible!" exclaimed Tom.
"Why impossible?" demanded the visitor.
"Because I had so set the rifle that almost the entire force of the
electrical bullet was expended in blowing apart the scarecrow figure
I made for a test," explained Tom. "All that passed through your
house was a small charge, and, if it HAD hit you there would have
been no more than a little shock, such as you would feel in taking
hold of an electric battery."
"How do I know this?" asked the man cunningly. "You say so, but for
all I know you may have wanted to kill me."
"Why?" asked Tom, trying not to laugh.
"Oh, so you might get some of my money. Of course I ain't got none,"
the miser went on quickly, "but folks thinks I've got a lot, and I
have to be on the lookout all the while, or they'd murder me for
it."
"I wouldn't," declared the young inventor. "It was a mistake. Only
part of the spent charge passed near you. Why, if it had been a
powerful charge you would never have been able to come over here. I
set the main charge to go off inside the scarecrow, and it did so,
as you can see by looking at what's left of it," and he pointed to
the pile of clothes and rags.
"How do I know this?" insisted the miser with a leer at the two
lads.
"Because if the charge had gone off either before or after it passed
through the figure, it would not have caused such havoc of the cloth
and straw," explained Tom. "First the charge would have destroyed
the steel plate, which it passed through without even denting it.
Why, look here, I will now fire the rifle at short range, and set it
to destroy the plate. See what happens."
He quickly adjusted the weapon, and aimed it at the plate, which,
had again been set up on the range. This time Tom was careful to set
the gage so that even a small part of the spent. charge would not go
outside the gallery.
The young inventor pressed the button, and instantly the heavy steel
plate was bent, torn and twisted as though a small sized cannon ball
had gone through it.
"That's what the rifle will do at short range," said Tom. "Don't
worry, Mr. Moker, you didn't have a narrow escape. You were in no
danger at all, though I apologize for the fright I caused you."
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