Had the lad only guessed the dangers ahead of him and the risks he was to run, he would not have spoken so confidently.
At last all was ready, and the model carefully deposited in the back of the machine. Jack took his seat at the steering wheel and started the engine. With a whirr and a bang it was going, and the next instant, with a wave of their hands, the two boys were off on what was to prove an eventful journey. Little Ralph accompanied them. The lad had begged so hard to go that they had not the heart to refuse him, and, after all, as Tom put it, he was so small that he hardly made any difference, anyway.
CHAPTER X—AN UNWELCOME ENCOUNTER
Although there was no necessity for great speed, the boys were anxious to get their errand accomplished and deposit the model safely in Boston. Then, too, Jack was looking forward, on his return, to making Mr. Peregrine’s invention practicable.
The day was pleasant. The sun shone down hotly, but the two lads in the auto did not notice the heat as they rushed along smoothly in the big machine. They passed through Pokeville at a good rate of speed. So fast, in fact, that they did not notice a man with a red beard who was lounging in front of the hotel. But if they did not see him, he took due note of them.
“There go those two kids,” he muttered; “wonder where they are off to now. It might be a good thing to follow them. I’ve got a scheme. I’ll call up Peregrine’s house and find out where they are going. It may turn out to be worth while taking after them.”
In accordance with this resolve the red-bearded man entered the hotel and closeted himself in a telephone booth. Adopting a feigned voice he represented himself as a friend of Jack’s, and asked where the boy had gone. Mr. Peregrine who, like most inventors, was rather unworldly, immediately replied that the boys had gone on a trip to Boston on important business.
“To Boston,” exclaimed the man to himself, as he hung up the receiver; “if that’s the case, I’ll wager it’s got something to do with the vanishing gun. Hold on a minute! By Jove, I recollect now that Peregrine’s patent lawyer has offices in that city. It’s ten to one that those boys are going there on some business connected with him.”
He lost no time in finding his companion, who was puffing at a black cigar and reading the morning paper. He hastily told him what he had seen, and suggested that they take after the boys at once in the yellow auto.
This plan was soon put into execution, and although they had not much hope of overtaking the lads, the two men reasoned that possibly some accident might favor them. At any rate, they knew that the rich men who employed them to keep track of Mr. Peregrine’s affairs would want to know of the object of this Boston trip, which was clearly an important one.