parting in such a hurry. The
man was but a short distance ahead of him, and Tom saw he was stuffing
some papers into his pocket.

"Here! Come back! Stop!" ordered Tom, but the man ran on the faster.

"That's a spy as sure as guns!" reflected Tom Swift. "And Bower is in
with him!" he added. "I've got to catch that fellow!" and he speeded
his pace as he ran after the fellow.

CHAPTER X

A BIG SPLASH

There was no question in the mind of Tom Swift but that the man he was
running after was guilty of some wrong-doing. In the first place he was
a stranger, and had no right inside the big fence that surrounded the
Swift machine plant. Then, too, the very fact that he ran away was
suspicious.

And this, coupled with the confusion on the part of Bower, and his
proximity to the safe, made Tom fear that some of his plans had been
stolen. These he was very anxious to recover if this strange man had
them, and so he raced after him with all speed.

"Stop! Stop!" called Tom, but the on-racing stranger did not heed.

The cries of the young inventor soon attracted the attention of his
men, and Jackson and some of the others came running from their various
shops to give whatever aid was needed. But they were all too far away
to give effective chase.

"Bower might have come with me if he had wanted to help," thought Tom.
But a backward glance over his shoulder did not show that the new
helper was engaging in the pursuit, and he could have started almost on
the same terms as Tom himself.

The runaway, looking back to see how near the young inventor was to
him, suddenly changed his course, and, noting this, Tom Swift thought:

"I've got him now! He'll be bogged if he runs that way," for the way
led to a piece of swampy land that, after the recent rains, was a
veritable bog which was dangerous for cattle at least; and more than
one man had been caught there.

"He can't run across the swamp, that's sure," reflected Tom with some
satisfaction. "I'll get him all right!"

But he wanted to capture the man, if possible, before he reached the
bog, and, to this end, Tom increased his speed to such good end that
presently, on the firm ground that bordered the swamp, Tom was almost
within reaching distance of the stranger.

But the latter kept up running, and dodged and turned so that Tom could
not lay hands on him. Suddenly, turning around a clump of trees the
fleeing man headed straight for a veritable mud hole that lay dir