"Well, Dad, of course those are some of the details I've got to work out. I'm planning a register gauge now, that will give warning about fifty miles before the battery is run down. That will leave me a margin to work on. And I'm going to have it fixed so I can take current from any trolley line, as well as from a regular charging station. My battery will be capable of being recharged very quickly, or, in case of need, I can take out the old cells and put in new ones. "That's a very good idea. Well, I hope you succeed." A few evenings after this, when Tom was busy in his machine shop, he heard some one enter. He looked up from the gauge of the motor, which he was studying, and, for a moment, he could make out nothing in the dark interior of the shop, for he was working in a brilliant light. "Who's there?" he called sharply, for, more than once unscrupulous men had endeavored to sneak into the Swift shops to steal ideas of inventions; if not the actual apparatus itself. "It's me--Ned Newton," was the cheerful reply. "Oh, hello, Ned! I was wondering what had become of you," responded Tom. "Where have you been lately?" "Oh, working overtime." "What's the occasion?" "We're trying out a new system to increase the bank business." "What's the matter? Aren't you folks getting business enough, after the big deposits we made of the bullion from the wreck?" "Oh, it's not that. But haven't you heard the news? There is talk of starting a rival bank in Shopton, and that may make us hustle to hold what business we have, to say nothing of getting new customers." "A new bank, eh? Who's going to start it?" "Andy Foger's father, I hear. You know he was a director in our bank, but he got out last week." "What for?" "Well, he had some difficulty with Mr. Pendergast, the president. I fancy you had something to do with it, too." "I?" Tom was plainly surprised. "Yes, you know you and Mr. Damon and Mr. Sharp captured the bank robbers, and got back most of the money." "I guess I do remember it! I wish you could have seen the gang when we raided them from the clouds, in our airship!" "Well, you know Andy Foger hoped to collect the five thousand dollars reward for telling the police that you were the thief, and of course he got fooled, for you got the reward. Mr. Foger expected his son would collect the money, and when Andy got left, it made him sore. He's had a grudge against Mr. Pendergast, and all the other bank officials ever since, and now he's going to start a rival bank. So that's why I said it was partly due to you." "Oh, I see. I thought at first you meant that it was on account of something that happened the other day." "What was that?" "Andy, Sam and Pete got the contents of a bottle of stove blacking," and Tom related the occurrence, at which Ned laughed heartily. "I wouldn't be surprised though," added Ned, "to learn that Mr. Foger started the new bank more for revenge than anything else."