JACK MAKES A PROMISE.
Both pursuers and pursued were hampered by the rather steep up-grade.
But it was not long before they reached the summit, and then began an
even more hair-raising exhibition of speed than before. The red auto
appeared to rush through the air, the fences and trees on either side
whizzed by in a blur, while the road unrolled like a white ribbon as
they burned up space.
“Gracious, we’re going!” gasped Tom.
“So is that chap ahead,” rejoined Jack with grim humor; “let her out
some more, Jupe.”
“Golly to goodness, Marse Jack, ah daren’t,” panted Jupe, the words
coming out of his lips between gasps. “De littlest bit mo’ ob dis an’
we am all busted to smithereens, fo’ sho’.”
“Well, do the best you can then.”
“We’s doin’ dat right now,” Jupe assured his young employer.
For a few minutes more the chase continued in stern silence.
Fortunately, no vehicles or pedestrians were encountered, as the road
was a more or less lonely one.
Suddenly Tom gave a yell of triumph.
“Hurray! He’s slackening speed, Jack.”
“Sure enough he is. Something’s the matter with his machine. Hit it up,
Jupe.”
“Look!” cried Tom the next instant; “he’s throwing something away.”
“So he is; a bundle of papers.”
“They’re the ones he stole! I reckon he knows we’d soon catch him if
his machine broke down, and he has thrown them away to cause us to stop
and pick them up. Are you going to?”
“Yes; they must be more important than capturing the man. Slow up,
Jupe, we’ll pick up those papers.”
“I hate to lose the chance of catching that rascal.”
“Well, maybe we can catch up with him again,” rejoined Jack.
The machine came to a stop and Jack jumped out. A glance at the papers
showed him that they were covered with carefully drawn plans and
calculations. He readily guessed that they must be the articles for
which they were in search.
“That came out finely,” he said as he revealed the contents of the
bundle to Tom; “we’ve recovered Mr. Dancer’s work without half as much
trouble as I expected.”
“Yes, but we’ve lost that man,” declared Tom.
He pointed ahead. Far down the road a dot was rapidly disappearing in
the distance. Somehow the motorcycle had recovered its speed and was
now so far ahead that catching up to it seemed impossible.
This being the case, there was nothing to be done but to turn back and
make with all haste for the inventor’s plant. They reached it without
further event and found the inventor awaiting them outside the palings.
He had bound a white cloth around his wound, which he declared did not
hurt him much.
“We have good news for you,” cried Jack, waving the papers; “I guess
we’ve recovered what that rascal took.”
A brief examination showed Mr. Dancer that the papers recaptured were
the identical ones taken from his desk. He explained that he had once
been associated in the machinery business with Duke, but that the
latter had proved dishonest and that he had closed all negotiations and
dealings with him. Duke in revenge had made one or two attacks on him
before, and this time had almost succeeded in injuring him seriously,
besides stealing the plans of the diving torpedo boat.
“He must have known, however, that they would be useless to him,” the
inventor continued, “for most of my ideas are patented and I used a
secret method of calculation of my own. Without the key nobody could
understand what was on the papers.”
“And in any event the boat is not yet completed?”
“No,” sighed the inventor, “I am afraid that all my time and expense
has gone for naught unless some means of making the boat dive can be
found.”
“Well, I will promise to do all I can,” Jack promised him; “I’ll lay
the case before my father to-night.”
“Thank you very much,” was the rejoinder; “there is nothing like
putting a fresh young mind to work on such problems. Often the very
fact that one has devised a thing makes one blind to its defects and
thus unable to remedy them.”
“I hope we shall hit on a way of solving your difficulties,” struck in
Tom. “By the way, we pass a police station on our way home; do you wish
us to ask them to send protection to you to-night?”
“No, I have no fear of Duke returning. But if he should do so, I
shall have my assistant, Silas Hardtack, with me to-night, and as he
is a former man-o’-war’s man and afraid of nothing, I shall be well
protected.”
“At least lock those papers in that iron safe I noticed in your
office,” urged Jack.
“I shall do so. Thank you for what you have done. Good-night!”
“Good-night!” hailed the boys, “we’ll see you to-morrow.”
“I hope so, and I hope you will bring with you some solution of my
difficulties.”