"Do you think it could be some new kind of elephant?"
asked Harry. "You know Tom Swift brought back a big giant
from one of his trips, and maybe he's got a bigger elephant
than any one ever saw before."

"Nonsense!" laughed Ned. "In the first place, Tom hasn't
been on any trip, of late, except to Washington, and the
only kind of elephants there are white ones."

"Really?" asked Harry.

"No, that was a joke," explained Ned. "Anyhow, Tom hasn't
any giant elephants concealed up his sleeve, I'm sure of
that."

"But what could this be?" asked Harry. "It moved just like
some big animal."

"Probably some piece of machinery Tom was having carted
from one shop to another," went on the young bank clerk.
"Most likely he had it covered with a big piece of canvas to
keep off the dew, and it was that you saw."

"No, it wasn't!" insisted Harry, but he could not give any
further details of what he had seen so that Ned could
recognize it. They kept on until they reached the hill, at
the bottom of which was the Swift home and the grounds on
which the various shops were erected.

"Here's the place where you can look down right into the