spite of the fact that the gun was larger than an ordinary rifle, it was not as heavy as the United States Army weapon.
Tom aimed at the armor-plate, and, by means of an arrangement on the rifle, he could tell exactly when he was pointing at the scarecrow, even though he could not see it.
"Here she goes!" he suddenly exclaimed.
Ned watched his chum. The young inventor pressed a small button at the side of the rifle barrel, about where the trigger should have been. There was no sound, no smoke, no flame and not the slightest jar.
Yet as Ned watched he saw the steel plate move slightly. The next instant the scarecrow figure seemed to fly all to pieces. There was a shower of straw, rags and old clothes, which fell in a shapeless heap at the end of the range.
"Say, I guess you did for that fellow, all right!" exclaimed Ned.
"It looks so," admitted Tom, with a note of pride in his voice. "Now we'll try another test."
As he laid aside his rifle in order to help Mr. Jackson shift the steel plate there was a series of yells outside the shed.
"What's that?" asked Tom, in some alarm.
"Sounds like some one calling," answered Ned.
