w hiding
spot, and I will communicate with you there."

"But they are on the watch," objected Ned. "They'll see where we go,
and follow us. The next time they may succeed in smashing the
lantern."

"And if they do," spoke Tom, "it will be all up with trying to
detect the smugglers, for it would take me quite a while to make
another searchlight. But I have a plan."

"What is it?" asked the government agent.

"I'll make a flight to-day," went on the young inventor, "and sail
over quite an area. I'll pick out a good place to land, and we'll
make our camp there instead of here. Then I'll come back to this
spot, and after dark I'll go up, without a light showing. There's no
moon to-night, and they'll have pretty good eyes if they can follow
me, unless they get a searchlight, and they won't do that for fear
of giving themselves away. We'll sail off in the darkness, go to the
spot we have previously picked out, and drop down to it. There we can
hide and I don't believe they can trace us."

"But how can you find in the darkness, the spot you pick out in
daylight?" Mr. Whitford wanted to know.

"I'll arrange some electric lights, in a certain formation in trees
around the landing place," said Tom. "I'll fix them with a clockwork
switch, that will illuminate them at a certain hour, and they'll run
by a storage battery. In that way I'll have my landing place all
marked out, and, as it can only be seen from above, if any of the
smugglers are on the ground, they won't notice the incandescents."

"But if they are in their airship they will," said Mr. Damon.

"Of course that's possible," admitted Tom, "but, even if they see
the lights I don't believe they will know what they mean. And,
another thing, I don't imagine they'll come around here in their
airship when they know that we're in the neighborhood, and when the
spy who endeavored to damage my lantern reports that he didn't
succeed. They'll know that we are likely to be after them any
minute."

"That's so," agreed Ned. "I guess that's a good plan."

It was one they adopted, and, soon after Mr. Whitford's visit the
airship arose, with him on board, and Tom sent her about in great
circles and sweeps, now on high and again, barely skimming over the
treetops. During this time a lookout was kept for any other
aircraft, but none was seen.

"If they are spying on us, which is probably the case," said Tom,
"they will wonder what we're up to. I'll keep 'em guessing. I think