Part 11 (1/2)

”'Cause I detected him doin' it. Yo'-all done made me a deteckertiff, an' I detected.”

”Go on, Rad.”

”Well, sah, Ma.s.sa Tom, I seen dish yeah Dutchman git a ticket-pa.s.s offen one ob de reg'lar men. Den he went in de unlucky place an' stayed fo' a long time. When he come out I jest natchully nabbed him, dat's whut I done, an' I took him to Boomerang's stable.”

”How'd you get him to go with you?” asked Ned, for the old colored man was feeble, and most of the men employed at Tom's plant were of a robust type.

”I done fooled him. I said as how I'd jest brought from town in mah mule cart some new sauerkraut, an' he could sample it if he liked. So he went wif me, an' when I got him to de stable I pushed him in and locked de door!”

”Come on!” cried Tom to his chum. ”Rad may be right, after all, and one of my workmen may be a German spy, though I've tried to weed them all out.

”However, no matter about that, if he was employed in another shop, he had no right to go into Number Thirteen. That's a violation of rules.

But if he's in Rad's ramshackle stable he can easily get out.”

”No, sah, dat's whut he can't do!” insisted the colored man.

”Why not?” asked Tom.

”'Cause Boomerang's on guard, an' yo'-all knows how dat mule of mine can use his heels!”

”I know, Rad,” went on Tom; ”but this fellow will find a way of keeping out of their way. We must hurry.”

”Oh, he's safe enough,” declared the colored man. ”I done tole Koku to stan' guard, too! Dat low-down white trash ob a giant is all right fo'

guardin', but he ain't wuff shucks at detectin'!” said Eradicate, with pardonable pride. ”By golly, maybe I's too old t' put on guard, but I kin detect, all right!”

”If this proves true, I'll begin to believe you can,” replied Tom. ”Hop along, Ned!”

Followed by the shuffling and chuckling negro, Tom and Ned went to the rather insecure stable where the mule Boomerang was kept. That is, the stable was insecure from the standpoint of a jail. But the sight of the giant Koku marching up and down in front of the place, armed with a big club, rea.s.sured Tom.

”Is he in there, Koku?” asked the young inventor.

”Yes, Master! He try once come out, but he approach his head very close my defense weapon and he go back again.”

”I should think he would,” laughed Ned, as he noted the giant's club.

”Well, Rad, let's have a look at your prisoner. Open the door, Koku,”

commanded Tom.

”Better look out,” advised Ned. ”He may be armed.”

”We'll have to take a chance. Besides, I don't believe he is, or he'd have fired at Koku. There isn't much to fear with the giant ready for emergencies. Now we'll see who he is. I can't imagine one of my men turning traitor.”

The door was opened and a rather miserable-looking man shuffled out.

There was a b.l.o.o.d.y rag on his head, and he seemed to have made more of an effort to escape than Koku described, for he appeared to have suffered in the ensuing fight.

”Carl Schwen!” exclaimed Tom. ”So it was you, was it?”

The German, for such he was, did not answer for a moment. He appeared downcast, and as if suffering. Then a change came over him. He straightened up, saluted as a soldier might have done, and a sneering look came into his face. It was succeeded by one of pride as the man exclaimed:

”Yes, it is I! And I tried to do what I tried to do for the Fatherland!