Free Victor Appleton (house Name) by Tom Swift, His Motor Cycle Page B

pretty
good shot, even if this is a new gun. I've been practicing at
improvised targets all day."
    "No; the less I have to do with him, the better I shall like it,"
answered Tom, "though I'm much obliged to you. I'll manage somehow
until I get to Pompville."
    He started off again, the hunter disappearing in the woods, whence
the sound of his gun was again heard.
    "He's a queer chap," murmured Tom, "but I like him. Perhaps I may
see him when I go to Waterford, if I ever do."
    Tom was destined to see the hunter again, at no distant time, and
under strange circumstances. But now the lad's whole attention was
taken up with the difficulty in which he found himself. Vainly
musing on what object the tramp could have had in breaking off the
wire, the young inventor trudged on.
    "I guess he was one of the gang after dad's invention," thought Tom,
"and he must have wanted to hinder me from getting to Albany, though
why I can't imagine." With a dubious shake of his head Tom
proceeded. It was hard work pushing the heavy machine through the
sand, and he was puffing before he had gone very, far.
    "I certainly am up against it," he murmured. "But if I can get a bit
of wire in Pompville I'll be all right. If I can't—"
    Just then Tom saw something which caused him to utter an exclamation
of delight.
    "That's the very thing!" he cried. "Why didn't I think of it
before?"
    Leaving his motor-cycle standing against a tree Tom hurried to a
fence that separated the road from a field. The fence was a barbed-
wire one, and in a moment Tom had found a broken strand.
    "Guess no one will care if I take a piece of this," he reasoned. "It
will answer until I can get more. I'll have it in place in a jiffy!"
    It did not take long to get his pliers from his toolbag and snip off
a piece of the wire. Untwisting it he took out the sharp barbs, and
then was ready to attach it to the binding posts of the battery box
and the spark plug.
    "Hold on, though!" he exclaimed as he paused in the work. "It's got
to be insulated, or it will vibrate against the metal of the machine
and short circuit. I have it! My handkerchief! I s'pose Mrs. Baggert
will kick at tearing up a good one, but I can't help it."
    Tom took a spare handkerchief from the bundle in which he had a few
belongings carried with the idea of spending the night at an Albany
hotel, and he was soon wrapping strips of linen around the wire,
tying them with pieces of string.
    "There!" he exclaimed at length. "That's insulated good enough, I
guess. Now to fasten it on and start."
    The young inventor, who was quick with tools, soon had the
improvised wire in place. He tested the spark and found that it was
almost as good as when the regular copper conductor was in place.
Then, having taken a spare bit of the barbed-wire along in case of
another emergency, he jumped on the motor-cycle, pedaled it until
sufficient speed was attained, and turned on the power.
    "That's the stuff!" he cried as the welcome explosions sounded. "I
guess I've fooled Happy Harry! I'll get to Albany pretty nearly on
time, anyhow. But that tramp surely had me worried for a while."
    He rode into Pompville, and on inquiring in a plumbing shop managed
to get a bit of copper wire that answered better than did the
galvanized piece from the fence. The readjustment was quickly made,
and he was on his way again. As it was getting close to noon he
stopped near a little spring outside of Pompville and ate a
sandwich, washing it down with the cold water. Then he started for
Centreford.
    As he was coming into the city he heard an automobile behind him. He
steered to one side of the road to give the big car plenty of room
to pass, but it did not come on as speedily as he thought it would.
He looked back and saw that it was going to stop near him.
Accordingly he shut off the power of his machine.
    "Is this the road to Centreford?" asked one of the travelers in the
auto.
    "Straight ahead," answered the lad.
    At the sound of his voice one of the men in the