working day and night upon the invention that he believed might
make even the Jandel people respectful, if not a bit envious.

First of all Tom had arranged to have built all around inside
the stockade a track of rails heavy enough to stand the wear and
tear of the heaviest locomotive built. Meanwhile the various
parts of his locomotive were being built in several shops, but
would be shipped to the Swift Construction Company and assembled
in Tom's try-out shed.

Great secrecy was of course maintained. Aside from the fact
that the new invention had something to do with electric motive
power, nobody about the shops could say what the new industry
portended. Save, of course, the Swifts themselves, Ned Newton,
and Mr. Damon, who was the Swifts' closest friend and sometimes
had furnished additional capital for Tom's experiments.

There was a thing that Mr. Damon furnished Tom at this time
that proved in the end to be of much importance. Before Tom had
seized upon this idea of his eccentric friend, and had made
proper use of it, something happened that came near to wrecking
utterly Tom's invention and completely putting an end to Tom
himself as an inventor.



Chapter X

A Strange Conversation