enough. We'll just have to keep our eyes
open when it's taken out of the hold, though."

Tom and Mr. Titus, both of whom were fond of fresh air and exercise,
had made it a practice to get up an hour before breakfast and take a
constitutional about the steamer deck. They did this as usual the
morning after the wireless warning was received, and they were standing
near the port rail, talking about this, when they heard a thud on the
deck behind them. Both turned quickly, and saw a round black object
rolling toward them. From the object projected what seemed to be a
black cord, and the end of this cord was glowing and smoking.

For a moment neither Tom nor Mr. Titus spoke. Then, as a slow motion of
the ship rolled the round black thing toward Tom, he cried:

"It a bomb!"

He darted toward it, but Mr. Titus pulled him back.

"Run!" yelled the contractor.

Before either of them could do anything, a queer figure of an elderly
gentleman stepped partly from behind a deck-house, and stooped over the
smoking object.

"Look out!" yelled Mr. Titus, crouching low. "That's an explosive bomb!
Toss it overboard!"

Chapter X

Professor Bumper

Fairly fascinated by the spluttering fuse, neither Tom nor Mr. Titus
moved for a second, while the deadly fire crept on through the black
string-like affair, nearer and nearer to the bomb itself.

Then, just as Tom, holding back his natural fear, was about to thrust
the thing overboard with his foot, hardly realizing that it might be
even more deadly to the ship in the water than it was on the deck, the
foot of the newcomer was suddenly thrust out from behind the
deck-house, and the sizzling fuse was trodden upon.

It went out in a puff of smoke, but the owner of the foot was not
satisfied with that for a hand reached down, lifted the bomb, the fuse
of which still showed a smouldering spark of fire, and calmly pulled
out the "tail" of the explosive. It was harmless then, for the fuse,
with a trail of smoke following, was tossed into the sea, and the
little man came out from behind the deck-house, holding the unexploded
bomb.

For a moment neither Tom nor Mr. Titus could speak. They felt an
inexpressible sense of relief. Then Tom managed to gasp out:

"You--you saved our lives!"

The little man who had stepped on the fuse, and had then torn it from
the bomb, looked at the object in his hand as though it were the most
natural thing in the world to pick explosives up of