“That’s right! Going to play with us Saturday?”
“I hope so,” and then, with a few other pleasant words, Seth hurried on, and Joe sought his father. He found Mr. Matson wrapping up some models.
“Quick dad!” he exclaimed. “Mr. Benjamin and Mr. Holdney are out at the gate. They just drove up. I slipped in to warn you!”
“Good, Joe! I’m glad you did. I wouldn’t want them to see me taking these things away, for it would tell them that their game was discovered, and I want to find out more of what their plans are before they are aware of it.”
“But how you going to get out?” asked his son. “They’re there yet,” he added, for he could look from a window and see the carriage still at the gate.
“Oh, you and I can slip out the back way. It’s lucky you told me. There, I’m ready,” and having locked his desk, Mr. Matson took his package and with Joe went out of a rear exit, going home by a roundabout way so that the conspirators did not see them.
“My! I wish this thing hadn’t happened, or that it was postponed for a while,” said Mr. Matson thoughtfully as he walked along.
“Why, is it likely to be serious, dad?”
“I’m afraid so. You see I have a peculiar arrangement with the harvester concern in regard to things that I might invent. It is too complicated to go into all the details, but I have to trust to their honor to give me my rights in certain matters. If they wanted to they could deprive me of the benefits of my patents and the law could not help me. So I have to be very careful. Up to now I have trusted Mr. Benjamin implicitly, but now—now I will be on my guard. It is a lucky thing you overheard that talk.”