I surely will be glad when Tom is more like himself," he mused, as he
left his chum. "And I guess Mary will be, too. I wonder if he's going
to ask her to the exhibition?"

It developed that Tom had done so, a fact which Ned learned on the
morning of the day set for the test.

"Come over about nine o'clock," Tom said to his chum. "I guess it will
be dark enough then."

Meanwhile Schwen and Otto Kuhn, the other man involved, had been locked
up, and all their papers given into the charge of the United States
authorities. A closer guard than ever was kept over No. 13 shop, and
some of the workmen, against whom there was a slight suspicion, were
transferred.

"Well, we'll see what we shall see," mused Ned on the appointed
evening, when a telephone message from Mr. Damon informed the young
bank clerk that the eccentric man was coming to call for him before
going on to the Swift place.

Chapter X

A Runaway Giant

"What do you think it's all about, Mr. Damon?"

"I'm sure I don't know, Ned."

The two were at the home of the young bank clerk, preparing to start
for the Swift place, it being nearly nine o'clock on the evening named
by the youthful inventor.

"Bless my hat-rack!" went on the eccentric man, "but Tom isn't at all
like himself of late. He's working on some invention, I know that, but
it's all I do know. He hasn't given me a hint of it."

"Nor me, nor any of his friends," added Ned. "And he acts so oddly
about enlisting--doesn't want even to speak of it. How he got exempted
I don't know, but I do know one thing, and that is Tom Swift is for
Uncle Sam first, last and always!"

"Oh, of course!" agreed Mr. Damon. "Well, we'll soon know, I guess.
We'd better start, Ned."

"It's useless to try to guess what it is Tom is up to. He has kept his
secret well. The nearest any one has come to it was when Harry figured
out that Tom had a band of giant elephants which he was fitting with
coats of steel armor to go against the Germans," observed Ned, when he
and Mr. Damon were on their way.

"Well, that mightn't be so bad," agreed Mr. Damon.
"But--um--elephants--and wild giant ones, too! Bless my circus ticket,
Ned! do you think we'd better go in that case?"

"Oh, Tom hasn't anything like that!" laughed Ned. "That was only
Harry's crazy notion after he saw something big and ungainly careening
about the enclosed yard of Shop Thirteen. Hello, there go Mary Nestor
and her father!" and Ned pointed to th