ith."

Early the next morning, when Tom arose in his own home, he met Mr.
Damon and Mr. Hardley, both of whom were guests at the Swift house,
pending the beginning of the undersea trip.

"Well, Tom," began the eccentric man, "we have good weather for the
start. Bless my rubber boots! Not that it much matters, though, what
sort of weather we have when we're in the submarine. But I always like
to start in the sunshine."

"So do I," agreed Mr. Hardley. "I suppose we'll get off early this
morning," he added.

"We'll go to the dock in the auto, as usual, shall we not?" he asked.

"We aren't going to start this morning," said Tom, as he sat down to
breakfast.

"Not going to start this morning!" exclaimed Mr. Hardley. "Why--why--"

"Bless my alarm clock!" voiced Mr. Damon, "has anything happened, Tom?
No accident to the M. N. 1 is there? You aren't backing out now, at the
last minute, are you?"

"Oh, no," was the easy answer. "We'll go, as arranged, but not today. I
had some unexpected news last night which necessitates making a trip
this morning. I expect to be back tonight, if all goes well, and we'll
start tomorrow morning instead of this. It's a matter of important
business."

"Well, I don't know that we can find fault with Mr. Swift for attending
to business," said Mr. Hardley, with a short laugh. "Business is what
keeps the world moving. And we are a little ahead of our schedule, as a
matter of fact. May I ask where you are going, Mr. Swift?"

"To Bedford, to call on a Mr. Barton Keith," answered Tom quickly,
looking the adventurer straight in the eyes.

Mr. Hardley was a good actor, or else he was a perfectly innocent man,
for he showed not the least sign of perturbation.

"Oh, Bedford," he remarked. "Don't know that I ever heard of the place."

"Or Mr. Keith, either?" asked Tom, a bit sharply.

"No, certainly not. Why should I?" he asked, boldly.

"I didn't know," Tom replied. "I'm sorry to postpone our trip, but it's
necessary," he added. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Everything is in
readiness, so there will be no delay."

Tom made a hurried meal, and then, giving Ned a hint of what was in the
wind, but cautioning him to say nothing about it, Tom had the small Air
Scout brought out, and in that he flew over to Mary's home.

He found her waiting for him, and, after being duly cautioned by her
mother to "be careful," though whether that was of any value or not is
possibly debatable, the small,