"I would gladly tell, if I knew. But this plot,
like the other one, directed against the inventions themselves,
is so shrouded in mystery that I cannot get to the bottom of it.
"Our Secret Service men have been working on it for some time,
not only in order to protect you, because of what you have done
for the government, but because Uncle Sam wishes to protect his
own property, especially the searchlight and the big cannon. But,
though our agents have worked hard, they have not been able to
get any clues that would put them on the right trail.
"So we can only warn you to be careful, and this I do in all
earnestness. That was part of my errand in coming here, though,
of course, I am anxious to inspect the new aerial warship you
have constructed. So watch out for two things--your inventions,
and, more than all, your life!"
"Do you really think they would do me bodily harm?" Tom asked,
a trifle skeptical.
"I certainly do. These foreign spies are desperate. If they
cannot secure the use of these inventions to their own country,
they are determined not to let this country have the benefit of
them."
"Well, I'll be careful," Tom promised.
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