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Page 29
But Tom Swift held into altogether too slight regard the powers
of those who were opposed to him. He did not appreciate the
depths to which they would stoop to gain their ends.
He had been working hard on his new device, and had reached a
point further along than when the other motor had exploded. He
began to see success ahead of him, and he was jubilant. Whether
this made him careless does not matter, but the fact was that he
left Bower more to himself, and alone in the experimental shop
several times.
And it was on one of these occasions, when Tom had been for
some time in one of the other shops, where he and Jackson were in
consultation over a new machine, that as he came back to the test
room unexpectedly, he saw Bower move hastily away from in front
of the safe. Moreover, Tom was almost certain he had heard the
steel door clang shut as he approached the building.
And then, before he could ask his helper a question, Tom looked
from a window and saw a stranger running hastily along the side
of the building where his trial motor was being set up.
"Who's that? Who is that man? Did he come in here? Was he
tampering with my safe?" cried Tom. He saw Bower hesitate and
change color, and Tom knew it was time to act.
The window was open, and with one bound the young inventor was
out and running after the stranger he had seen departing in such
a hurry. The man was but a short distance ahead of him, and Tom
saw he was stuffing some papers into his pocket.
"Here! Come back! Stop!" ordered Tom, but the man ran on the
faster.
"That's a spy as sure as guns!" reflected Tom Swift. "And Bower
is in with him!" he added. "I've got to catch that fellow!" and
he speeded his pace as he ran after the fellow.
CHAPTER X
A BIG SPLASH
There was no question in the mind of Tom Swift but that the man
he was running after was guilty of some wrong-doing. In the first
place he was a stranger, and had no right inside the big fence
that surrounded the Swift machine plant. Then, too, the very fact
that he ran away was suspicious.
And this, coupled with the confusion on the part of Bower, and
his proximity to the safe, made Tom fear that some of his plans
had been stolen. These he was very anxious to recover if this
strange man had them, and so he raced after him with all speed.
"Stop! Stop!" called Tom, but the on-racing stranger did not
heed.
The cries of the young inventor soon attracted the attention of
his men, and Jackson and some of the others came running from
their various shops to give whatever aid was needed. But they
were all too far away to give effective chase.
"Bower might have come with me if he had wanted to help,"
thought Tom. But a backward glance over his shoulder did not show
that the new helper was engaging in the pursuit, and he could
have started almost on the same terms as Tom himself.
The runaway, looking back to see how near the young inventor
was to him, suddenly changed his course, and, noting this, Tom
Swift thought:
"I've got him now! He'll be bogged if he runs that way," for
the way led to a piece of swampy land that, after the recent
rains, was a veritable bog which was dangerous for cattle at
least; and more than one man had been caught there.
"He can't run across the swamp, that's sure," reflected Tom
with some satisfaction. "I'll get him all right!"
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