So it came that there was not so strict a guard about the place, and Tom and Ned had more time to themselves. Not that the young inventor was not busy, for the details of shipping Tank A to France came to him, as did also the arrangements for making others in this country and planning for the manufacture abroad.
It was one evening, after a particularly hard day's work, when Tom had been making a test in turning the tank in a small space in the enclosed yard, that the two young men were sitting in the machine shop, discussing various matters.
The telephone bell rang, and Ned, being nearest, answered.
"It's for you, Tom," he said, and there was a smile on the face of the young bank clerk.
"Um!" murmured Tom, and he smiled also.
Ned could not repress more smiles as Tom took up the conversation over the wire, and it did not take long for the chum of the youthful inventor to verify his guess that Mary Nestor was at the other end of the instrument.
"Yes, yes," Tom was heard to say. "Why, of course, I'll be glad to come over. Yes, he's here. What? Bring him along? I will if he'll come. Oh, tell him Helen is there! 'Nough said! He'll come, all right!"
And Tom, without troubling to consult his friend, hung up the receiver.
"What's that you're committing me to?" asked Ned.
"Oh, Mary wants us to come over and spend the evening. Helen Sever is there, and they say we can take them downtown if we like."