With their knives, the farmers quickly cut the ropes, and some of them rubbed the arms of the lad to restore the circulation. "What was it--highwaymen?" asked a man, unable to longer restrain his curiosity. "Did they rob you?" "No, it wasn't highwaymen," replied the youth. "It was a trick of some boys I know," and to Tom's credit be it said that he did not mention their names. "They did it for a joke," he added. "Boys' trick? Joke?" queried Mr. Mason. "Pretty queer sort of a joke, I think. They ought to be arrested." "Oh, I fancy I gave them what was coming to them," went on the young inventor. "Did they try to blow ye up, too?" asked Mr. Hertford. "What in th' name of Tunket was that blue light, and that explosion? I heard it an' saw it way over to my house." "So did I," remarked Mr. Mason, and several others said the same thing. "We thought a meteor had fallen," he continued, "and we got together to make an investigation." "It's a good thing for me you did," admitted Tom, "or I might have had to stay here all night." "But was it a meteor?" insisted Mr. Hertford. "No," replied the lad, "I did it." "You?" "Yes. You see after they tied me I found I could get one hand free. I reached in my pocket for my knife, but instead of it I managed to get hold of a package of powder I had." "Gunpowder?" asked Mr. Mason. "No, a chemical powder I use in an electrical battery. The powder explodes in fire, and makes quite a blue flash, and a lot of smoke, but it isn't very dangerous, otherwise I wouldn't have used it. When the boys were some distance away from the fire, I threw the powder in the blaze. It went off in a moment, and--" "I guess they run some; didn't they?" asked Mr. Mason with a laugh. "They certainly did," agreed Tom. CHAPTER X TOM HAS A FALL The young inventor told more details of his adventure in the woods, but, though the farmers questioned him closely, he would not give a single name of his assailants. "But I should think you'd want to have them punished," remarked Mr. Mason. "I'll attend to that part later," answered Tom. "Besides, most of them didn't know what they were doing. They were led on by one or two. No, I'll fight my own battles. But I wish you'd lend me a lantern long enough to find my motor-cycle. The moon doesn't give much light in the woods, and those fellows may have hidden my machine." Mr. Mason and his companions readily agreed to accompany Tom on a search for his wheel. It was found just where he had dismounted from it in the road. Andy and his cronies had evidently had enough of their encounter with our hero, and did not dare to annoy him further. "Do you think you can ride home?" asked one of the farmers of the lad, when he had ascertained that his machine was in running order. "Well, it's risky without my lantern," answered Tom. "They smashed that for me. But I guess I can manage."