第20章

"I want to add my thanks to those of Mr.Titus for saving our lives," said Tom, as he advanced."We don't know what to make of it all, but you certainly stopped that bomb from going off.""Yes, perhaps I did," admitted the little man coolly and calmly, as though preventing bomb explosions was his daily exercise before breakfast.

Tom and Mr.Titus introduced themselves by name.

"I am Professor Swyington Bumper," said the bomb-holder, with a bow, removing his hat, and again disclosing his shiny bald head."I am very glad to have met you indeed.""And we are more than glad," said Tom, fervently, as he glanced at the explosive.

"Now that the danger is over," went on Mr.Titus, "suppose we make an investigation, and find out how this bomb came to be here.""Just what I was about to suggest," remarked Professor Bumper."Bombs, such as this, do not sprout of themselves on bare decks.And I take it this one is explosive.""Let me look at it," suggested Tom."I know something of explosives." It needed but a casual examination on the part of one who had done considerable experimenting with explosives to disclose the fact that it had every characteristic of a dangerous bomb.Only the pulling out of the fusehad rendered it harmless.

"If it had gone off," said Tom, "we would both have been killed, or.at least, badly injured, Mr.Titus.""I believe you, Tom.And we owe our lives to Professor Bumper.""I'm glad I could be of service, gentlemen," the scientist remarked, in an easy tone."Explosives are out of my line, but I guessed it was rather dangerous to let this go off.Have you any idea how it got here?""Not in the least," said Tom."But some one must have placed it here, or dropped it behind us.""Would any one have an object in doing such a thing?" the professor asked.

Tom and Mr.Titus looked at one another.

"Waddington!" murmured the contractor."If he were on board I should say he might have done it to get us out of the way, though I would not go so far as to say he meant to kill us.It may be this bomb has only a light charge in it, and he only meant to cripple us.""We'll find out about that," said Tom."I'll open it." "Better be careful," urged Mr.Titus.

"I will," the young inventor promised."I beg your pardon," he went onto Professor Bumper."We have been talking about something of which you know nothing.Briefly, there is a certain man who is trying to interfere in some work in which Mr.Titus and I are interested, and we think, if he were on board, he might have placed this bomb where it would injure us.""Is he here?" asked the professor.

"No.And that is what makes it all the more strange," said Mr.Titus."At one time I thought he was here, but I was mistaken."Tom took the now harmless bomb to his stateroom, and there, after taking the infernal machine apart, he discovered that it was not as dangerous as he had at first believed.

The bomb contained no missiles, and though it held a quantity of explosive, it was of a slow burning kind.Had it gone off it would have sent out a sheet of flame that would have severely burned him and Mr.Titus, but unless complications had set in death would not have resulted.

"They just wanted to disable us," said the contractor."That was their game.Tom, who did it?""I don't know.Did you ever see this Professor Bumper before?" "I never did.""And did it strike you as curious that he should happen to be so near at hand when the bomb fell behind us?""I hadn't thought of that," admitted the contractor."Do you mean that he might have dropped it himself?""Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say that," replied Tom, slowly."But I think it would be a good idea to find out all we can of Professor Swyington Bumper.""I agree with you, Tom.We'll investigate him."