"I--I jest walked in," said the man, but Tom knew this could
not be true, as no strangers were admitted without a permit and
none had been issued. The man denied knowing anything about
Bower, but the latter's flight was evidence enough that something
was wrong.

Not wishing to go to the trouble of having the man arrested
merely as a trespasser, Tom let him go after his clothes had been
dried on a boiler in one of the shops.

"Take him to the gate, and tell him if he comes back he'll get
another dose of the same kind of medicine," ordered Tom to one of
the guards at the plant, and when the latter had reported that
this had been done, he added in an earnest tone:

"He went off talking to himself and saying he'd get even with
you, Mr. Swift."

"All right," said Tom easily. "I'll be on the watch."

The young inventor made a thorough examination of his
experiment shop and the test motor. No damage seemed to have been
done, and Tom began to think he had been too quick for the
conspirators, if such they were. His plans and drawings were
intact, and though Bower might have given a copy to the stranger
with the gold tooth, the latter did not take any away with him.
That he had some papers he wished to conceal and escape with,
seemed certain, but the splash into the mud hole had ended this.