they went into Mr. Keith's office. There, in their
excitement, they dropped the papers, and you put the fire out just in
time, Tom, or they'd have been burned beyond hope of saving. You have
given me back something almost as valuable as life, Tom Swift!"

"I'm glad I could render you that service," said the young inventor.
"And I had no idea, when I dropped the chemicals, that I was saving
someone even more valuable than your secret formulae," and they all
knew he referred to Mary Nestor.

An examination of the papers found on Mr. Keith's office floor showed
that not one of the dye secrets was missing. Thus Mr. Baxter came into
possession of his own again, and when Field and Melling were
sufficiently recovered they were charged with the theft of the papers.
The charge was proved, and, in addition, other accusations were brought
against them which insured their remainder in jail for a considerable
period.

As Mr. Baxter had suspected, Field and Melling had, indeed, robbed him
of his dye formulae papers. They learned that he possessed them, and
they invited him to a night conference with the purpose of robbing him.
The fire in their factory was an accident, of which they took advantage
to make it appear that the chemist lost his papers in the blaze. But
they had taken them, and though they did not mean to leave poor Baxter
to his fate, that would have been the result of their selfish action
had not Tom and Ned come to the rescue. And it was of this "putting
over" that Field and Melling had boasted, the time Tom overheard their
talk at Meadow Inn.

As Mr. Baxter guessed, the letter delivered to him at Tom's place was
one that the two scoundrels would have retained, as they had others
like it, if they had seen it. But a new clerk forwarded it, and the
evidence it contained helped to convict Field and Melling.

As for the Landmark Building, while badly damaged, it would have been
worse burned but for Tom's prompt action. And though he was more than
glad that he had been on hand, he rather regretted that he could not
give the test for which he had set out.

Eventually the building was made more nearly fire-proof and the
fire-escapes were rebuilt, and Mr. Blake did not lose his money, as he
had feared, though Barton Keith said it was more owing to Tom Swift's
good luck than to Mr. Blake's management.

But, as it developed, nothing could have been more opportune than Tom's
action, for word of his quenching a bigger blaz