"Look out!" yelled the engineer again, but it was too late. There was
the sound of a blow, and Tom went down like a log. Then the place was in
darkness, and the sound of footsteps in rapid flight could be heard
outside the shed.

The intruder, after wounding the young inventor, had made his escape.




Chapter Twelve

Miss Nestor Calls


"What's de mattah? Shall I come in? Am anybody hurted?" yelled Eradicate
Sampson as he pounded on the rear door of the aeroplane shed. "Let me
in, Massa Tom!"

"All right! Wait a minute! I'm coming!" called Mr. Jackson. He tried to
peer through the darkness, to where a huddled heap indicated the
presence of Tom. Then he thought of the electric lights, which were run
by a storage battery when the dynamo was shut down, and a moment later
the engineer had switched on the incandescents, filling the big shed
with radiance.

"Tom, are you badly hurt?" gasped Mr. Jackson.

There was no answer, for Tom was unconscious.