glimpse of his face.
It was the tramp--Happy Harry--whom he had encountered on the lonely
road.

CHAPTER XIX.

TOM ON A HUNT

Tom held his rifle in readiness, though he only intended it as a
means of intimidation, and would not have fired at the burglar
except to save his own life. But the sight of the weapon was enough
for the tramp. He crouched motionless. His own light had gone out,
but by the gleam of the electric he carried Tom could see that the
man had in his hand some tool with which he had been endeavoring to
force the safe.

"I guess you've got me!" exclaimed the intruder, and there was in
his tones no trace of the tramp dialect.

"It looks like it," agreed Tom grimly. "Are you a tramp now, or in
some other disguise?"

"Can't you see?" asked the fellow sullenly, and then Tom did notice
that the man still had on his tramp make-up.

"What do you want?" asked Tom.

"Hard to tell," replied the burglar calmly. "I hadn't got the safe
open before you came down and disturbed me. I'm after money,
naturally."

"No, you're not!" exclaimed Tom.

"What's that?" and the man seemed surprised.

"No, you're not!" went on Tom, and he held his rifle in readiness.
"You're after the patent papers and the model of the turbine motor.
But it's gone. Your confederates got it away from me. They probably
haven't told you yet, and you're still on the hunt for it. You'll
not get it, but I've got you."

"So I see," admitted Happy Harry, and he spoke with some culture.
"If you don't mind," he went on, "would you just as soon move that
gun a little? It's pointing right at my head, and it might go off."

"It is going off--very soon!" exclaimed Tom grimly, and the tramp
started in alarm. "Oh, I'm not going to shoot you," continued the
young inventor. "I'm going to fire this as an alarm, and the
engineer will come in here and tie you up. Then I'm going to hand
you over to the police. This rifle is a repeater, and I am a pretty
good shot. I'm going to fire once now, to summon assistance, and if
you try to get away I'll be ready to fire a second time, and that
won't be so comfortable for you. I've caught you, and I'm going to
hold on to you until I get that model and those papers back."

"Oh, you are, eh?" asked the burglar calmly. "Well, all I've got to
say is that you have grit. Go ahead. I'm caught good and proper. I
was foolish to come in here, but I thought I'd take a chance."

"Who are you, anyhow? Who are the