“Now they may have secreted some time bombs around the place. These may go off any minute, but, it is probable, they have been set to explode after dark. They hope to throw the place into confusion, and then to rush in and get what they want. But Tom has put us on guard.” “Yes,” agreed Mr. Damon. “Then, as I understand it, we are now going to search for bombs that may go off at any minute?” “That’s right,” assented Ned. “Well, I’m glad I carry a large accident insurance,” said the eccentric man, forgetting to bless anything just then. “Oh, there may not be much danger,” Ned stated. “If the plotters hope to get Tom’s models and papers it isn’t likely they would use bombs of very great force. To do so would be to blow things so much apart that they couldn’t get anything out of the ruins. “So I think they will use bombs with only a small charge of explosive—enough to make a lot of noise, smoke, and confusion. But if we can find them first—the bombs, I mean—and put them out of business, we’ll be all right.” “Yes,” said Mr. Damon, “providing they don’t find us first and put us out of business. It doesn’t take much of a bomb to blow a man sky-high.” “No,” grimly admitted Ned. “But that’s the chance we have to take.” “Yes, it’s a chance,” said the odd man, and then he and Ned began their perilous work—for it was perilous in spite of what the young manager had said—while Mr. Swift and Mary Nestor returned to the house. The heads of the various factory departments were called into consultation and instructions given them to search their respective quarters with minute care to discover any possible bombs. Koku and Eradicate were also called in and with Ned and Mr. Damon formed a separate searching party. It was Koku who found the first bomb. The giant was looking in a pile of rubbish in one corner of a certain shop when he made a dive for something and cried: “Cannon ball—like strong man throw in circus. I stronger than circus man—I toss cannon ball!” Ned was just in time to stop him, for the giant had picked up a round iron object and was about to use it to exhibit his great strength when the manager cried: “Hold it, Koku! That’s a bomb!” And so it proved to be—a bomb with a time arrangement for firing it, set to go off in about two hours. Ned quickly disconnected the firing arrangement and the bomb was put in a pail of water. Efforts were redoubled to find the dangerous “cannon balls,” as Koku called them, and in a short time three more were discovered in various parts of the plant. They were all set with time fuses which had more than an hour yet to run, so the bombs were rendered harmless with no ill effects to the searchers. But it was when the shadows of evening were falling, and Ned and the others had about given up expectation of finding more bombs, that Ned unexpectedly came across one hidden in a refuse box outside of Tom’s private office.