ome of my plans!" cried Mr. Swift. "Catch
him, Tom!"

Tom ran after the stranger, whose curious actions had roused their
suspicions, while Mr. Swift entered the motor shop to ascertain
whether anything had been stolen.

CHAPTER IX.

A FRUITLESS PURSUIT

Down through the yard Tom speeded, in and out among the buildings,
looking on every side for a sight of the bold stranger. No one was
to be seen.

"He can't be very far ahead," thought Tom. "I ought to catch him
before he gets to the woods. If he reaches there he has a good
chance of getting away."

There was a little patch of trees just back of the inventor's house,
not much of a woods, perhaps, but that is what they were called.

"I wonder if he was some ordinary tramp, looking for what he could
steal, or if he was one of the gang after dad's invention?" thought
Tom as he sprinted ahead.

By this time the youth was clear of the group of buildings and in
sight of a tall, board fence, which surrounded the Swift estate on
three sides. Here and there, along the barrier, were piled old
packing-cases, so that it would be easy for a fugitive to leap upon
one of them and so get over the fence. Tom thought of this
possibility in a moment.

"I guess he got over ahead of me," the lad exclaimed, and he peered
sharply about. "I'll catch him on the other side!"

At that instant Tom tripped over a plank and went down full length,
making quite a racket. When he picked himself up he was surprised to
see the man he was after dart from inside a big box and start for
the fence, near a point where there were some packing-cases piled
up, making a good approach to the barrier. The fugitive had been
hiding, waiting for a chance to escape, and Tom's fall had alarmed
him.

"Here! Hold on there! Come back!" cried the youth as he recovered
his wind and leaped forward.

But the man did not stay. With a bound he was up on the pile of
boxes, and the next moment he was poised on top of the fence. Before
leaping down on the other side, a jump at which even a practiced
athlete might well hesitate, the fleeing stranger paused and looked
back. Tom gazed at him and recognized the man in an instant. He was
the third of the mysterious trio whom the lad had seen in the
Mansburg restaurant.

"Wait a minute! What do you want sneaking around here?" shouted Tom
as he ran forward. The man returned no answer, and an instant later
disappeared from view on the other side of the fence.