“That’s the man who jumped over our fence and escaped!”

Then, before the occupant of the boat could catch sight of him, Tom turned and fled back into the bushes, out of view.

CHAPTER XXIII.

TOM IS PURSUED

Tom was so excited that he hardly knew what to do.  His first thought was to keep out of sight of the man in the boat, for the young inventor did not want the criminals to suspect that he was on their trail.  To that end he ran back until he knew he could not be seen from the lake.  There he paused and peered through the bushes.  He caught a glimpse of the man in the motor-boat.  The craft was making fast time across the water.

“He didn’t see me,” murmured Tom.  “Lucky I saw him first.  Now what had I better do?”

It was a hard question to answer.  If he only had some one with whom to consult he would have felt better, but he knew he had to rely on himself.  Tom was a resourceful lad, and he had often before been obliged to depend on his wits.  But this time very much was at stake, and a false move might ruin everything.

“This is certainly the house,” went on Tom, “and that man in the boat is one of the fellows who helped rob me.  Now the next thing to do is to find out if the others of the gang are in the old mansion, and, if they are, to see if dad’s model and papers are there.  Then the next thing to do will be to get our things away, and I fancy I’ll have no easy job.”

Well might Tom think this, for the men with whom he had to deal were desperate characters, who had already dared much to accomplish their ends, and who would do more before they would suffer defeat.  Still, they under-estimated the pluck of the lad who was pitted against them.

“I might as well proceed on a certain plan, and have some system about this affair,” reasoned the lad.  “Dad is a great believer in system, so I’ll lay out a plan and see how nearly I can follow it.  Let’s see—­what is the first thing to do?”

Tom considered a moment, going over the whole situation in his mind.  Then he went on, talking to himself alone there in the woods: 

“It seems to me the first thing to do is to find out if the men are in the house.  To do that I’ve got to get closer and look in through a window.  Now, how to get closer?”

He considered that problem from all sides.

“It will hardly do to approach from the lake shore,” he reasoned. “for if they have a motor-boat and a dock, there must be a path from the house to the water.  If there is a path people are likely to walk up or down it at any minute.  The man in the boat might come back unexpectedly and catch me.  No, I can’t risk approaching from the lake shore.  I’ve got to work my way up to the house by going through the woods.  That much is settled.  Now to approach the house, and when I get within seeing distance I’ll settle the next point.  One thing at a time is a good rule, as dad used to say.  Poor dad!  I do hope I can get his model and papers back for him.”