"It certainly is odd," went on Mr.Hastings when, after Tom had secured the screw driver from his motor-cycle tool bag, he aided the lad in removing the letters from the bow of the boat "Are you sure you don't know the man?""No, I never saw him before.At first I thought his voice sounded like one of the members of the Happy Harry gang, but when I looked squarely at him I could not see a bit of resemblance.Besides, that gang would not venture again into this neighborhood.""No, I imagine not.Perhaps he was only a curious, meddlesome person.I have frequently been bothered by such individuals.They want to see all the working parts of an automobile or motor- boat, and they don't care what damage they do by investigating."Tom did not reply, but he was pretty certain that the man in question had more of an object than mere curiosity in tampering with the boat.However, he could discover no solution just then, and he proceeded with the work of taking off the letters.
"What are you going to do with your boat, now that you have it?" asked Mr.Hastings."Can you run it down to your dock in the condition in which it is now?""No, I shall have to go back home, get some tools and fix up the motor.It will take half a day, at least.I will come back this afternoon and, have the boat at my house by night.That is if I may leave it at your dock here.""Certainly, as long as you like."
The young inventor had many things to think about as he rode toward home, and though he was somewhat puzzled over the actions of the stranger, he forgot about that in anticipating the pleasure he would have when the motor-boat was in running order.
"I'll take dad off on a cruise about the lake," he decided."He needs a rest, for he's been working hard and worrying over the theft of the turbine motor model.I'll take Ned Newton for some rides, too, and he can bring his camera along and get a lot of pictures.Oh, I'll have some jolly sport this summer!"Tom was riding swiftly along a quiet country road and was approaching a steep hill, which he could not see until he was close to it, owing to a sharp turn.
As he was about to swing around it and coast swiftly down the steep declivity he was startled by hearing a voice calling to him from the bushes at the side of the road.
"Hold on, dar I Hold on, Mistah Swift!" cried a colored man, suddenly popping into view."Doan't go down dat hill.""Why, it's Eradicate Sampson!" exclaimed Tom, quickly shutting off the power and applying the brakes."What's the matter, Rad? Why shouldn't I go down that hill?""Beca'se, Mistah Swift, dere's a pow'ful monstrous tree trunk right across de road at a place whar yo' cain't see it till yo' gits right on top ob it.Ef yo' done hit dat ar tree on yo' lickity-split machine, yo' suah would land in kingdom come.Doan't go down dat hill!"Tom leaped off his machine and approached the colored man.Eradicate Sampson did odd jobs in the neighborhood of Shopton, and more than once Tom had done him favors in repairing his lawn mower or his wood-sawing machine.In turn Eradicate had given Tom a valuable clue as to the hiding place of the model thieves.
"How'd the log get across the road, Rad?" asked Tom.
"I dunno, Mistah Swift."I see it when I come along wid mah mule, Boomerang, an' I tried t' git it outer de way, but I couldn't.Den I left Boomerang an' mah wagon at de foot ob de hill an' I come up heah t' git a long pole t' pry de log outer de way.I didn't t'ink nobody would come along, case dis road ain't much trabeled.""I took it for a short cut," said the lad."Come on, let's take a look at the log."Leaving his machine at the top of the slope, the young inventoraccompanied the colored man 'down the hill.At the foot of it, well hidden from sight of any one who might come riding down, was a big log.It was all the way across the road.
"That never fell there," exclaimed Tom in some excitement."That never rolled off a load of logs, even if there had been one along, which there wasn't.That log was put there!""Does yo' t'ink dat, Mistah Swift?" asked Eradicate, his eyes getting big.
"I certainly do, and, if you hadn't warned me, I might have been killed.""Oh, I heard yo' lickity-split machine chug-chuggin' along when I were in de bushes, lookin' for a pryin' pole, an' I hurried out to warn yo.I knowed I could leave Boomerang safe, 'case he's asleep.""I'm glad you did warn me," went on the youth solemnly.Then, as he went closer to the log, he uttered an exclamation.
"That has been dragged here by an automobile!" he cried."It's been done on purpose to injure some one.Come on, Rad, let's see if we can't find out who did it."Something on the ground caught Tom's eye.He stooped and picked up a nickle-plated wrench.
"This may come in handy as evidence," he murmured.
