"
"I took it for a short cut," said the lad. "Come on, let's take a
look at the log."
Leaving his machine at the top of the slope, the young inventor
accompanied the colored man 'down the hill. At the foot of it,
well hidden from sight of any one who might come riding down, was
a big log. It was all the way across the road.
"That never fell there," exclaimed Tom in some excitement. "That
never rolled off a load of logs, even if there had been one along,
which there wasn't. That log was put there!"
"Does yo' t'ink dat, Mistah Swift?" asked Eradicate, his eyes
getting big.
"I certainly do, and, if you hadn't warned me, I might have been
killed."
"Oh, I heard yo' lickity-split machine chug-chuggin' along when I
were in de bushes, lookin' for a pryin' pole, an' I hurried out to
warn yo. I knowed I could leave Boomerang safe, 'case he's
asleep."
"I'm glad you did warn me," went on the youth solemnly. Then, as
he went closer to the log, he uttered an exclamation.
"That has been dragged here by an automobile!" he cried. "It's
been done on purpose to injure some one. Come on, Rad, let's see
if we can't find out who did it."
Something on the ground caught Tom's eye. He stooped and picked
up a nickle-plated wrench.
"This may come in handy as evidence," he murmured.
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