ught it was
Andy and his cronies coming back, but a voice that called a moment
later proved that this was not so.

"Is any one here?" shouted a man. "Any one hurt? What was that fire and
explosion?"

"I'm here," replied Tom. "I'm not hurt exactly, but I'm tied to a tree.
I'll be much obliged if you'll loosen me."

"Who are you?"

"Tom Swift. Is that you, Mr. Mason?"

"Yes. By jinks! I never expected to find you here, Tom. Over this way,
men," he added calling aloud. "I've found him; it's Tom Swift."

There was the flicker of several lanterns amid the trees, and soon a
number of men had joined Mr. Mason, and surrounded Tom. They were
farmers living in the neighborhood.

"What in the name o' Tunket happened?" asked one. "Did you get hit by a
meteor or a comet? Who tied you up; highwaymen?"

"Cut him loose first, and ask questions afterward," suggested Mr. Mason.

"Yes," added Tom, with a laugh, "I wish you would. I'm beginning to
feel cramped."

With their knives, the farmers quickly cut the ropes, and some of them
rubbed the arms of the lad to restore the circulation.

"What was it--highwaymen?" asked a man, unable to longer restrain his
curiosity. "Did they rob you?"

"No, it wasn't highwaymen," replied the youth. "It was a trick of some
boys I know," and to Tom's credit be it said that he did not mention
their names. "They did it for a joke," he added.

"Boys' trick? Joke?" queried Mr. Mason. "Pretty queer sort of a joke, I
think. They ought to be arrested."

"Oh, I fancy I gave them what was coming to them," went on the young
inventor.

"Did they try to blow ye up, too?" asked Mr. Hertford. "What in th'
name of Tunket was that blue light, and that explosion? I heard it an'
saw it way over to my house."

"So did I," remarked Mr. Mason, and several others said the same thing.
"We thought a meteor had fallen," he continued, "and we got together to
make an investigation."

"It's a good thing for me you did," admitted Tom, "or I might have had
to stay here all night."

"But was it a meteor?" insisted Mr. Hertford.

"No," replied the lad, "I did it."

"You?"

"Yes. You see after they tied me I found I could get one hand free. I
reached in my pocket for my knife, but instead of it I managed to get
hold of a package of powder I had."

"Gunpowder?" asked Mr. Mason.

"No, a chemical powder I use in an electrical battery. The powder
explodes in fire, and makes quite a blue flash, and a lot of smo