Chapter 25 Tom Swift and his Chest of Secrets by Victor Appleton
THE ROUND-UP
Tom Swift felt that he was on the verge of several important discoveries, now that he had located the scoundrels in the blue machine. The knowledge that Renwick Fawn was among them was startling. So was the information that Blodgett and Barsky were one and the same person.
“I guess this whole thing was engineered when the men who were associated with Blythe found I wouldn’t do business with them,” whispered Tom. “I don’t believe Blythe had anything to do with the plot. He just saw a good chance to make money, and he would have dealt honestly, I’m sure. But the others aren’t of that type.”
“Of course that accusation against my father about the Liberty Bonds has nothing to do with the theft of your box, Tom,” put in Ned. “But it shows that Fawn is in with criminals, and that’s enough to make me suspect him. I shouldn’t be surprised but what he stole the bonds himself.”
“Maybe he did,” agreed Tom. “And if they’re in that machine we are going to get them back.”
“How?” asked Ned.
“I’ll show you,” was the answer. “Wait until it gets a little later and they go to sleep, as I think they will.”
Not knowing how long they would have to remain at their vigil and feeling somewhat chilly in spite of the fact that Tom had said the nights were warm, they decided to send Koku back for the blankets left in the auto. With these wrapped about them they were in better condition to remain on guard.
As the young inventor had suggested, the robbers were not particular to maintain a guard. The two friends watched the fellows cooking their evening meal and rather envied them as the odor of a savory stew came to their noses, for all Tom, Ned and Koku had were cold victuals.
Finally the camp of the robbers grew quiet, though for a time an occasional figure could be seen moving about the tent. At last even this did not occur, and Tom guessed that all were asleep.
“I’m going to slip over there and fix things so they can’t get away,” Tom whispered to Ned. “Once we make sure they can’t move the aeroplane and my chest, we can go back and get the police to round them up. You and Koku stay here.”
“What you do, Master?” inquired the giant, in as low a voice as possible, when he saw Tom stealing out of the bushes where they were hiding.
“I’m going to put them on the blink, Koku,” was the answer.
“You kill ’um while ’um sleep?” the giant asked, not understanding Tom’s slang. “Let Koku kill! ’Um tie Koku up—now Koku kill!”
The giant was eager to wreak vengeance on those who had so mistreated him. But Tom said:
“Hold yourself in, you blood-thirsty man-mountain! There’s going to be no killing! Anyway, I want to catch those fellows. Mr. Newton’s vindication may depend on getting them alive.”
Losing interest when he found he could not attack the men with his fists, Koku sank back beside Ned while Tom, as cautious as an Indian, made his way toward the camp of the scoundrels. His object was to disable the aeroplane, rendering it incapable of rising in case the men tried to make a sudden flight.
Knowing all about aircraft as he did, it was an easy matter for the young inventor to remove a small portion of the mechanism—one that would probably be the last thing to be missed by the robbers in case they looked for a reason for their machine not taking off.
“I’ll just take off the distributor,” decided Tom. This was a small affair of hard rubber, about as big as one’s thumb, and shaped not unlike it. On it were some pieces of metal, and it rotated in the timing case, distributing the electric current to the different spark plugs in the cylinders in proper order for firing them as the gas charge entered. Without its distributor an aeroplane or a motor car is as helpless as though it had no gas.
Slipping around behind the tent and moving so cautiously that he did not disturb the sleeping men, Tom climbed up on the big blue machine. His first thought was to look for his chest of secrets, and he saw it stowed away in the fuselage. He felt a fierce desire to bring Koku there and carry away the box. But he knew this would make a noise and arouse the men. With the help of his giant, Tom knew he could have beaten off the five, but he wanted to capture them as well as get back his chest, and by crippling the aeroplane he thought this could be brought about.
Having made sure that his chest was there, though of the contents he could not be so sure, the young inventor removed the distributor from the motor and slipped back to his friends.
“Now, Ned,” he told his friend, “it’s your turn. Go back to the auto, ride into town and explain matters to the police. Arrange to have them assemble here at dawn and raid the place. Koku and I will remain on guard.”
“Right-o!” whispered Ned, as he made ready to leave.
Several hours passed, with Tom and Koku wrapped in their blankets, waiting. The camp of the robbers remained quiet and dark.
At last there was a movement near Tom. He started, for he had fallen into a doze and for a moment he thought he was being attacked by the robbers. But Ned’s voice whispered in his ear:
“I’ve brought the police. They’ve surrounded the camp and they’ll make the round-up as soon as you give the word.”
“Wait until it gets a bit lighter,” decided Tom, for dawn was breaking. “We don’t want any of them to get away.”
“Koku catch ’um!” muttered the giant.
Ned had done his work well, bringing back the chief of police of Fenwick, the town near which the robbers were camped, and with the chief came a score of men, for no chances were being taken.
A signal had been agreed upon, and when it was light enough to see, Tom gave it.
There was a concerted rush upon the camp, and the robbers were taken completely by surprise. Two tried to start the aeroplane, but though the propellers were spun there was no answering roar of the motor, for they were dead with the removal of the distributor which reposed snugly in Tom’s pocket.
Some of the men showed fight, but the police soon subdued them. Koku rushed up to Renwick Fawn and, catching hold of him, shook him as a dog shakes a rat. The giant then caught Barsky and was about to bang together the heads of the two men, and probably would have killed them, when Tom cried for him to stop.
“Why stop?” demanded Koku. “ ’Um tie me up in knots. Now I bust ’um in mince pies!”
But he was prevailed upon to release the greatly frightened men, who were then handcuffed with the others and put in the police auto.
“Well, Barsky, you didn’t think I’d get out of the cistern so easily, did you?” asked Tom of the red-haired man.
A snarl was the only answer.
“Are these yours?” asked the chief of police, as he showed Tom a bundle of Liberty Bonds. “We found them in a tin box in the tent.”
“They’re mine!” cried Renwick Fawn, throwing out his elbow in the peculiar manner that identified him.
“I think they’re the ones you accused my father of stealing,” said Ned. “Hold on to them, Chief.”
“I will, young man,” was the cool answer.
Sullen and defiant, the prisoners were taken to jail. Then with Koku’s help Tom’s chest of secrets, with the papers, plans and patents intact, as the young inventor ascertained by a quick inspection, was taken to a storage vault in a local bank until it could be removed to Shopton.
“I must telephone dad the good news,” Tom said, when the robbers were safely disposed of. And when Tom got into communication with Mr. Swift the latter expressed his delight and also told of the mysterious message demanding a reward for the return of the box.
“I’ll pay myself the reward,” chuckled Tom.
Little remains to be told. As Ned suspected, the Liberty Bonds were those stolen from the Investment Company and it was proved that Fawn had taken them. Barsky and Blodgett were one and the same, as Tom suspected, and he was one of the prime movers in the plot to steal Tom’s secrets. He and others were sent to prison for long terms.
Mr. Blythe had acted in good faith, knowing nothing of the character of the men, who, for their own selfish ends, sought to have him act for them. They had plotted to get Tom’s papers, thinking that when they had possession of them they could force him to come to terms in the sale of his tidal engine and other devices.
Accordingly, after open measures had failed, trickery was resorted to. Blodgett, disguised as a Russian pattern-maker, sought and obtained employment. When he found he could not sneak away with the papers, because of the big chest, he attacked Tom, put him out of the way, and then so arranged matters that his confederates entered the place in the night, overpowered Koku, and left with the chest.
The men made good their escape, after tying Koku to the tree, and they had hoped to fly to the fastness of the western mountains, where they expected to make terms with Tom. But one of the gang, who was anxious to get cash in a hurry, persuaded them to land in the place near the trees and try to get money from the Swifts by offering to return the chest. It was this that caused the robbers to go into camp. They expected to open negotiations again over the telephone. However, Tom spoiled their plans.
“But I’m not going to take any more chances,” decided the young inventor several days later. “I’m going to have a special vault made to hold my chest of secrets.”
“And when you don’t have to worry about them I suppose you’ll start and make something new, won’t you Tom?” asked Ned.
“Yes, I guess so,” was the answer. “But just now I’m going to pay a visit to a friend of mine.”
And Ned knew without asking just where Tom Swift was going.
THE END