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Page 65
"That what I think," answered Tom. "I know it sounds pretty
far-fetched," he went on. "But take a look for yourself. If those
particles on, the files aren't exactly of the same color and
texture as the material of which the silencer case is made, I'll
never build another machine."
Jackson peered through the powerful glass moving out a little
farther from the shack, so as to get the best light possible on
the subject of his examination. It was fast getting dark, but
there was enough glow in the western sky for his purpose.
"Am I right?" asked Tom.
"You're right!" declared his helper. "This is exactly the same
metal as that of which your silencer case is made. It's a
peculiar mixture of aluminum and vanadium steel. I never knew it
used in any shop but yours, and these filings are certainly of
that metal. It would seem, Tom, that these were the files used to
cut a crease in the case of your silencer to weaken it so it
would burst."
"My idea exactly!" cried Tom. "The spy, who got into my shop in
some undiscovered manner, did his work and then fled here to
hide. He left his files behind. Mr. Nestor must have been here,
either before or after. No, I'll not say that, either. Finding
his wallet here doesn't prove that he was here. It might have
been brought here by one of the spies and dropped. But I'm sure
we're on the track of the men who damaged my airship, as well as
those who know something of the mystery of Mr. Nestor."
"I agree with you," said Jackson. "Of course there's a
possibility that the same peculiar metal you used in your
silencer case may have been used in some other machine shop, and
these files may have come from there, and have been employed in
perfectly regular work. But the chances are--"
"There's only one way to make sure," said Tom. "Let's take the
files with us and see if they fit in the grooves where the break
came. We'll take these back to where we left the Air Scout," and
he clinked the files he held.
"We can just about make it before it gets black dark," returned
Jackson. "But that won't give us any more time to look around
here," and he indicated the hut.
"I fancy we've seen all there is to see here," said Tom. "Mr.
Nestor isn't here, and whether he was or not is a question.
Anyhow, some one was here who had something to do with him after
his disappearance, I'm positive of that. And I'm sure some one
was here who damaged my airship. Now we'll run down both those
clews, find out who owns this place, who has been using it, and
all we can along that line. So, if you're ready, let's travel."
The two set out to make their way back to where they had left
the stranded airship. It was fast becoming dark, but they could
hurry along with more speed now, as they did not have to stop to
look for the marks of the peculiar automobile tires. They had
noticed the path along which they had traveled, and in half the
time they had spent coming they were back where the Air Scout
rested undisturbed in the meadow amid the trees.
Making sure that, as far as they could tell, no one had visited
the craft since they had left it, Tom and Jackson compared the
file marks on what was left of the broken silencer case with the
files they had found in the hut. They used a small, but powerful
electric lamp to aid them in this examination, as it was too dark
to see otherwise, and what they saw caused the young inventor to
exclaim:
"That settles it! These were the files used!"
"That's right!" agreed his assistant. "You've called the turn,
Tom. The next thing to do is to find who connects with the
files."
"Yes. To do that and find Mr. Nestor," said Tom. "We have
plenty of work ahead of us. But let's get nearer civilization and
send some word to the folks at home. They'll be getting worried."
"It doesn't seem as if there was a way out of here without
using an airship," remarked Jackson.
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