“Oh, bress yo’ for dat, Massa Tom!” cried the negro, whom Tom recognized as a worthless character about the town.  “I didn’t go fo’ to do nuffin’, Massa Tom.  I were jest goin’ t’ look in de coop, t’ count an’ see how many fowls mah friend Eradicate had, an’ den—­”

“Yes, and then I tie you!” broke in Koku.

“You collared him, I guess you mean to say,” spoke Tom with a laugh.  “Well, I guess, Sam,” speaking to the negro, “if you had counted Rad’s chickens he couldn’t have counted as many in the morning.  But be off, and don’t come around again, or you might have to count the bars in a jail cell for a change.”

“Bress yo’ honey.  I won’t neber come back.”

“Shall release him?” asked Koku doubtfully.

“Yes,” said Tom.

“And not reflict the club on him?”

The giant raised his club longingly.

“Oh, Massa Tom, protect me!” cried Sam.

“No, don’t even reflect the club on him,” advised the young inventor with a laugh.  “He hasn’t done any harm, and he may have been the means of a great discovery.  Remember Sam,” Tom went on sternly, “I have your picture, as you were trying to break into the coop, and if you come around again, I’ll use it as evidence against you.”

“Oh, I won’t come.  Not as long as dat giant am heah, anyhow,” said the negro earnestly.  “Besides, I were only goin’ t’ count Eradicate’s chickens, t’ see ef he had as many as I got.”

“All right,” responded Tom.  “Now, Koku, you may escort him off the premises, and be on the lookout the rest of the night, off and on.  Where’s Rad?”

“He has what he says is ‘de misery’ in his back so that he had to go to bed,” explained the giant, to account for the faithful colored man not having responded to the alarm.

“All right, get rid of Sam, and then come back.”

As Tom turned to go in his shop he saw his aged father coming slowly toward him.  Mr. Swift had hastily dressed.

“What is the matter, Tom?” he asked.  “Has anything happened?  I heard your alarm go off, and I came as quickly as I could.”

“Nothing much has happened, father, excepting a chicken thief.  But something great may come of it.  Do you notice that searchlight, and how powerful it is?”

“I do, Tom.  I never knew you had one as big as that.”

“Neither did I, and I haven’t, really.  That’s one of my smallest ones, but something seems to have happened to it to make it throw out a beam like that.  I’m just going to look.  Come on in the shop.”

The two inventors, young and old, entered, and Tom quickly crossed to where the wires from the automatic dynamo, extended to the searchlight outside the window of his room.  He made a quick inspection.

“Look, father!” he cried.  “The alternating current from the automatic dynamo has become crossed with direct current from the big storage battery in a funny way.  It must have been by accident, for never in the world would I think of connecting up in that fashion.  I would have said it would have made a short circuit at once.”