hich he had taken possession for himself
and his cooking operations. It adjoined the quarters to which Tom, Ned,
Mr. Damon and Koku had been assigned.

"Golly! I ain't so old yit but what I knows de stuff Massa Tom laiks!"
exclaimed the colored man, moving off with a chuckle.

Tom, though he had many suspicions about the cut cables that had nearly
been the cause of his gun sliding into the sea, had learned nothing
definite--nor had Ned.

The German officer, with his body servant, who seldom spoke, had landed
at Colon, and was proceeding to make himself at home with the officers
and men who were building the canal. Occasionally he paid a visit to
Tom and Ned, where they were engaged about the big gun. He always
seemed pleasant, and interested in their labors, asking many question,
but that was all, and our hero began to feel that perhaps he was wrong
in his suspicions.

As for Ned, he veered uncertainly from one suspicion to another. At one
time he declared that von Brunderger and General Waller were in a
conspiracy to upset Tom's plans. Again he would accuse the German
alone, until Tom laughingly bade him attend more to work and less to
theories.

Slowly the work progressed. The gun was mounted after much labor, and
then arrangements began to be made for the test. A series of shots were
to be fired out to sea, and the proper precautions were to be taken to
prevent any ships from being struck.

"Though if you intend to send a projectile thirty miles," said one of
the officers, "I'm afraid there may be some danger, after all. Are you
sure you have a range of thirty miles, Mr. Swift?"

"I have," answered Tom, calmly, "and with the increased elevation that
I am able to get here, it may exceed that."

The officer said nothing, but he looked at Tom in what our hero thought
was a peculiar manner.

A few days before the date set for the test one of the sentinels, who
had been detailed to keep curiosity-seekers away from the giant cannon,
approached Tom and said:

"There is a gentleman asking to see you, Mr. Swift."

"Who is it?" asked Tom, laying aside a pressure gauge he intended
attaching to the gun.

"He says his name is Peterson--Alec Peterson. Do you want to see him?"

"Yes, let him come up," directed the young inventor. "Do you hear that,
Ned?" he called. "Our fortune-hunting friend is here."

"Maybe he's found that lost opal mine," suggested Ned.

"I hope he has, for dad's sake," went on Tom. "Hello,