Free Mad Scientists' Club by Bertrand R. Brinley, Charles Geer Page B

just happened to find this up in our attic," he explained, as he threw it into the mouth of the cannon. We could hear it slide all the way to the back and thud against the rear wall of the breech. Obviously, Henry had some nefarious scheme up his sleeve.
    We had to heat up the cannon again in order to ease the cement plug back into the barrel. When we had finished, and cleaned up all the evidence of the bonfire, the giant gun looked as though it hadn't been touched. We trundled Zeke's hoisting crane and all our gear back down the hill to where the truck was parked.
    It was a good thing we cleared out when we did. When Zeke had finally maneuvered Richard the Deep Breather back into town, we discovered that a crew from the town road department was already on its way out to Memorial Point to try and unplug the Rodman cannon.
    "We should have guessed they'd get moving fast," said Jeff. "Tomorrow's election day, and if Abner Sharples is going to make a big issue out of the bank robbery, he'll have to do it today."
    Mortimer and I were detailed to follow the crowd of curious onlookers back to Memorial Point. We didn't want to miss any detail of the maneuverings of Abner Sharples. Henry, Jeff, and Homer went straight to the bank to see Mr. Willis. For the moment we had forgotten all about Dinky and Freddy.
    The scene at Memorial Point was full of laughs for us. Mortimer and I sat on a low branch of a tree where we could see everything that was going on, and snickered behind our hands as the town road crew sweated and labored over the job of getting the cement out of the cannon's bore. They had dragged a gasoline-powered air compressor up the hill, and with two jackhammers they took turns chipping away at the concrete. The farther in they got, the tougher the job became, and they had to stop once and send back to town for breathing masks. The silica dust was so bad they could work only a few minutes at a time, and it took hours to drill through to the breech.
    Jim Callahan, the city engineer, was in charge of the project, but Abner Sharples kept running around giving orders and making speeches to the crowd so nobody would forget whose idea it was. Harmon Muldoon kept getting in the way trying to hand tools to the men and give them advice so everybody would think he was essential to the operation. Mortimer and I sat up in the tree trying to keep from laughing so we wouldn't attract attention. My side was aching from Mortimer elbowing me in the ribs every time Abner Sharples said something stupid.
    It was late in the afternoon when the workers finally chipped through the last bit of cement. Harmon Muldoon got stuffed into the barrel to see what was inside, just because he happened to be hanging around. When he crawled back out, clutching the leather satchel in one hand, the crowd had pressed up close to the cannon's mouth. Abner Sharples grabbed the satchel and held it aloft for everyone to see. Then he gave the shortest political speech on record in Mammoth Falls.
    "Follow me!" he said.
    Harmon Muldoon turned around with a look of triumph in his eyes, and thumbed his nose at Mortimer and me. We just sat there on the tree limb and stared right through him as if he wasn't even there.
    The crowd followed Abner Sharples down the hill to the road, and Mortimer and I tagged along. Abner led the caravan of vehicles back to Mammoth Falls, standing in the back seat of his convertible, waving the brown leather satchel over his head.
    A few minutes later he was waving it in front of the Town Council, with most of the spectators from Memorial Point crammed into the meeting room.
    "Gentlemen," said Abner, "with the help of the detective work of our young friend Harmon Muldoon here, I think we may have discovered important evidence which will solve the mystery of the 1910 bank robbery."
    Harmon Muldoon had a smirk on his face like a Cheshire cat.
    "First, I would like to call your attention to the initials on the nameplate of this satchel."
    Abner