Chapter XVI
The Old Barn
"There's no use chasing after 'em, Tom," observed Ned, as the two chumsstood side by side outside the tank and gazed after the three menrunning off across the fields as fast as they could go. "They've gottoo much a start of us."
"I guess you're right, Ned," agreed Tom. "And we can't very well pursuethem in the tank. She goes a bit faster than anything of her build, buta running man is more than a match for her in a short distance. If Ihad the Hawk here, there'd be a different story to tell."
"Well, seeing that you haven't," replied Ned, "suppose we let themgo--which we'll have to, whether we want to or not--and see where theywere hiding and if they left any traces behind."
"That's a good idea," returned Tom.
The place whence the men had emerged was a portion of the old factoryfarthest removed from the walls the tank had crunched its way through.Consequently, that part was the least damaged.
Tom and Ned came to what seemed to have been the office of the buildingwhen the factory was in operation. A door, from which most of the glasshad been broken, hung on one hinge, and, pushing this open, the twochums found themselves in a room that bore evidences of having been thebookkeeper's department. There were the remains of cabinet files, and abroken letter press, while in one corner stood a safe.
"Maybe they were cracking that," said Ned.
"They were wasting their time if they were," observed Tom, "for thecombination is broken--any one can open it," and he demonstrated thisby swinging back one of the heavy doors.
A quantity of papers fell out, or what had been papers, for they werenow torn and the edges charred, as if by some recent fire.
"They were burning these!" cried Ned. "You can smell the smoke yet.They came here to destroy some papers, and we surprised them!"
"I believe you're right," agreed Tom. "The ashes are still warm." Andhe tested them with his hand. "They wanted to destroy something, andwhen they found we were here they clapped the blazing stuff into thesafe, thinking it would burn there.
"But the closing of the doors cut off the supply of air and the firesmouldered and went out. It burned enough so that it didn't leave usvery much in the way of evidence, though," went on Tom ruefully, as hepoked among the charred scraps.
"Maybe you can read some of 'em," suggested Ned.
"Part of the writing is in German," Tom said, as he looked over themass. "I don't believe it would be worth while to try it. Still, Ican save it. Here, I'll sweep the stuff into a box, and if we get achance we can try to patch it together," and finding a broken box inwhat had been the factory office the young inventor managed to get intoit the charred remains of the papers.
A further search failed to reveal anything that would be useful in theway of evidence to determine what object the three men could have hadin hiding in the ruins, and Tom and Ned returned to the tank.
"What do you think about them, Tom?" asked Ned, as they were about tostart off once more for the cross-country test.
"Well, it seems like a silly thing to say--as if I imagined my tank wasall there was in this part of the country to make trouble--but Ibelieve those men had some connection with Simpson and with that spySchwen!"
"I agree with you!" exclaimed Ned. "And I think if we could get head ortail of those burned papers we'd find that there was somecorrespondence there between the man I saw up the tree and the workmanyou had arrested."
"Too bad we weren't a bit quicker," commented Tom. "They must have beenin the factory when we charged it--probably came there to be inseclusion while they talked, plotted and planned. They must have beenafraid to go out when the tank was walking through the walls."
"I guess that's it," agreed Ned. "Did you recognize any of the men,Tom?"
"No, I didn't see 'em as soon as you did, and when they were runningthey had their backs toward me. Was Simpson one?"
"I can't be sure. If one was, I guess he'll think we are keeping prettyclosely after him, and he may give this part of the country a wideberth."
"I hope he does," returned Tom. "Do you know, Ned, I have an idea thatthese fellows--Schwen Simpson, and those back of them, includingBlakeson--are trying to get hold of the secret of my tank for theGermans."
"I shouldn't be surprised. But you've got it finished now, haven't you?They can't get your patents away from you."
"No, it isn't that," said Tom. "There are certain secrets about themechanism of the tank--the way I've increased the speed and power, theuse of the spanners, and things like that--which would be useful forthe Germans to know. I wouldn't want them to find out these secrets,and they could do that if they were in the tank a while, or had her intheir possession."
"They couldn't do that, Tom--get possession of her--could they?"
"There's no telling. I'm going to be doubly on the watch. That fellowBlakeson is in the pay of the plotters, I believe. He has a big machineshop, and he might try to duplicate my tank if he knew how she was madeinside."
"I see! That's why he was inquiring about a good machinist, I suppose,though he'll be mightily surprised when he learns it was you he wastalking to the time your Hawk met with the little mishap."
"Yes, I guess maybe he will be a bit startled," agreed Tom. "But Ihaven't seen him around lately, and maybe he has given up."
"Don't trust to that!" warned Ned.
The tank was now progressing easily along over fields, hesitating notat small or big ditches, flow going uphill and now down, across astretch of country thinly settled, where even fences were a rarity.When they came to wooden ones Tom had the workmen get out and take downthe bars. Of course the tank could have crushed them like toothpicks,but Tom was mindful of the rights of farmers, and a broken fence mightmean strayed cows, or the letting of cattle into a field of grain orcorn, to the damage of both cattle and fodder.
"There's a barbed-wire fence," observed Ned, as he pointed to one offsome distance across the field. "Why don't you try demolishing that?"
"Oh, it would be too easy! Besides, I don't want the bother of puttingit up again. When I make the barbed-wire test I want some set up onheavy posts, and with many strands, as it is in Flanders. Even thatwon't stop the tank, but I'm anxious to see how she breaks up the wireand supports--just what sort of a breach she makes. But I have adifferent plan in mind now.
"I'm going to try to find a wooden building we can charge as we did themasonry factory. I want to smash up a barn, and I'll have to pick outan old one for choice, for in these war days we must conserve all wecan, even old barns."
"What's the idea of using a barn, Tom?"
"Well, I want to test the tank under all sorts of conditions--the sameconditions she'll meet with on the Western front. We've proved that abrick and stone factory is no obstacle."
"Then how could a flimsy wooden barn be?"
"Well, that's just it. I don't think that it will, but it may be that abarn when smashed will get tangled up in the endless steel belts, andclog them so they'll jam. That's the reason I want to try a woodenstructure next."
"Do you know where to find one?"
"Yes; about a mile from here is one I've had my eyes on ever since Ibegan constructing the tank. I don't know who owns it, but it's such aramshackle affair that he can't object to having it knocked intokindling wood for him. If he does holler, I can pay him for the damagedone. So now for a barn, Ned, unless you're getting tired and want togo back?"
"I should say not! Speaking of barns, I'm with you till the cows comehome! Want any more machine gun work?"
"No, I guess not. This barn isn't particularly isolated, and theshooting might scare horses and cattle. We can smash things up withoutthe guns."
The tank was going on smoothly when suddenly there was a lurch to oneside, and the great machine quickly swung about in a circle.
"Hello!" cried Ned. "What's up now? Some new stunt?"
"Must be something wrong," answered the young inventor. "One of thebelts has stopped working. That's why we're going in a circle."
"What's wrong?" asked Tom quickly.
"Just a little accident," replied the head machinist. "One of the boysdropped his monkey wrench and it smashed some spark plugs. That causeda short circuit and the left hand motor went out of business. We'llhave her fixed in a jiffy."
Tom looked relieved, and the machinist was as good as his word. In afew minutes the tank was moving forward again. It crossed out to theroad, to the great astonishment of some farmers, and the fright oftheir horses, and then Tom once more swung her into the fields.
"There's the old barn I spoke of," he remarked to Ned. "It's almost asbad a ruin as the factory was. But we'll have a go at it."
"Going to smash it?" asked Ned.
"I'm going right through it!" Tom cried.
Tom Swift and His War Tank; Or, Doing His Bit for Uncle Sam Page 16