on, the aged inventor who was going his
rounds, seeing that everything was all right about the various shops.

"Anybody with my father, Garret?" asked the lad. "I see he's still up."

"Yes," was the rather unexpected reply. "Mr. Damon is with him.
They've been in your father's room all the evening--ever since you went
away in the car."

"Anything the matter?" inquired the young inventor, a bit anxious, as
he thought of the Happy Harry gang.

"Well, I don't know," and the engineer seemed puzzled. "They called me
in once to know if everything was all right outside, and to inquire if
you were back. I saw, then, that they were busy figuring over
something, but I didn't take much notice. Only I heard Mr. Damon say:
'There's going to be trouble if we can't realize on those bonds,' and
then I came away."

"Is that all he said?" asked Tom.

"No, he said 'Bless my buttons,' or something like that; but he blesses
so many things I didn't pay much attention."

"That's right," agreed the lad. "But I wonder what the trouble is
about? I must go see."

As he passed along the hall, out of which his father's combined study
and library opened, the aged inventor came to the door.

"Is that you, Tom?" he asked.

"Yes, Dad."

"Come in here, if you haven't anything else to do. Mr. Damon is here."

Tom needed but a single glance at the faces of his father and Mr. Damon
to see that something was troubling the two. The table in front of them
was littered with papers covered with rows of figures.

"What's the matter?" asked Tom.

"Well, I suppose I ought not to let it bother me, but it does," replied
his father.

"Something wrong with your patents, Dad? Has the crowd of bad men been
bothering you again?"

"No, it isn't that. It's trouble at the bank, Tom."

"Has it been robbed again?" asked the lad quickly. "If it has I can
prove an alibi," and he smiled at the recollection of the time he and
Mr. Damon had been accused of looting the vault, as told in "Tom Swift
and His Airship."

"No, it hasn't been robbed in just that way," put in Mr. Damon. "But,
bless my shoe laces, it's almost as bad! You see, Tom, since Mr. Foger
started the new bank he's done his best to cripple the one in which
your father and I are interested. I may say we are very vitally
interested in it, for, since the withdrawal of Foger and his
associates, your father and I have been elected directors."

"I didn't know that," remarked the lad.

"No, I did