get out," said the young inventor.

It was one evening, when taking a short cut to his home,
that Mr. Nestor, the father of Mary Nestor, in whom Tom was
more than ordinarily interested, passed not far from the big
enclosure which was guarded, on the factory side, day and
night. Inside, though out of sight and hidden by the high
fence, were other guards.

As Mr. Nestor passed along the fence, rather vaguely
wondering why it was so high, tight and strong, he felt the
ground trembling beneath his feet. It rumbled and shook as
though a distant train were passing, and yet there was none
due now, for Mr. Nestor had just left one, and another would
not arrive for an hour.

"That's queer," mused Mary's father. "If I didn't know to
the contrary, I'd say that sounded like heavy guns being
fired from a distance, or else blasting. It seems to come
from the Swift place," he went on. "I wonder what they're up
to in there."

Suddenly the rumbling became more pronounced, and mingled
with it, in the dusk of the evening, were the shouts of men.

"Look out!" some one cried. "She's going for the fence!"

A second later there was a cracking and straining of
boards, and the fence near Mr. Nestor bulged out as though
something big, powerful and mighty were pressing it from the