CHAPTER I— THE MYSTERY OF A BLACK NIGHT
Tom and Harry on a perilous footing. Trailed by a wriggling shadow. An apparition of the night. The prowler disappears in the sea. "Dynamite!" Hazelton is left alone with the unseen perils. "Ah reckon he's mah poultry!"
CHAPTER II— THE CALL OF ONE IN TROUBLE
Tom Beade turns out his crew to guard the breakwater. "Men, there's foul play afoot on the retaining wall!" A surly and unwilling boatload of helpers. A cry for assistance. "Conlon, slam it to that engine of yours."
CHAPTER III— VANISHING INTO THIN AIR
Harry hears weird cries in the darkness. "Have I been listening to strange birds or to human signals?" Hazelton makes a thrilling discovery. The prowler reveals himself. "For the last time, who are you?" Tables turned on the young engineer. Another mystery of the night.
CHAPTER IV— SOME ONE CALLS AGAIN
Harry Hazelton leaves no trace. "There's wicked work on hand to-night." Tom seeks the aid of the superintendent. The little Mexican servant shows his loyalty. "What have I and the rest to do with each other now?" "They've blown the wall again!" gasps Tom Reade.
CHAPTER V— WANTED— DAYLIGHT AND DIVERS
Pulling for the scene of the explosion. The "Morton's" crew found sound asleep. Slackers get a shock. "You're through with this job!" announces Reade sternly. The foreman grows threatening. "You'll keep quiet or you'll go overboard!"
CHAPTER VI— MR. BASCOMB IS PEEVISH
The police are notified of Hazelton's disappearance. The president criticizes his young chief engineer. Tom Reade refuses to obey his superior's order. A heated interview. "Take that pen and sign your resignation!" thunders the enraged officer.
CHAPTER VII— TOM ISN'T AS EASY AS HE LOOKS
"Contracts can't be broken so easily." A poser for President Bascomb. Tom finds an ally in Mr. Prenter. "The directors will sustain you, Mr. Reade." Company officers on the scene of the disaster. A joyful appearance.
CHAPTER VIII— MR. PRENTER INVESTIGATES
Harry Hazelton walks in on an amazed group. "The brute hit me over the head with something." Hazelton relates the story of his strange experiences. Captured by a giant negro. "We must catch that scoundrel oven if it costs us a thousand dollars!"
CHAPTER IX— INVITED TO LEAVE CAMP
Company officers have an object lesson. Tom reads a lecture to his men. The tripping of a bootlegger. Reade warns a law-breaker. The discharged foreman gives the lie. Tom overrides the president's order. Young engineers in great peril.
CHAPTER X— THE NIGHT IS NOT OVER
Tom's fist finds many a soft mark. Loyal workers come to the assistance of the young engineer. Sheer pluck quells a riot. Evarts and his fellow lawbreakers thrown out of camp. The sullen boom of another explosion reaches the ears of the officers.
CHAPTER XI— A MESSAGE FROM A COWARD
The foreman looks for an airship. Tom told to go ahead with his little hammer. The president a man without nerve. A declaration of war from an unknown enemy. Preparing to meet unseen perils. "War is never so bad as a disgraceful peace," declares Tom Reade.
CHAPTER XII— AN ENGINEER'S FIGHTING BLOOD
Reade and Hazelton promptly take up the challenge. Carrying the war into the enemy's camp. "Wise men often change their minds," mocks Tom. Gamblers are quickly disarmed. Law-breakers turned over to the police. Reade looks for trouble before the night ends.
CHAPTER XIII— WISHING IT ON MR. SAMBO
Tom Reade scouts for trouble and finds it. Watching the negro prepare for his vicious work. The young engineer draws the serpent's fangs. The secret of the explosions revealed. "Asleep at the switch." "Here comes my black man!"
CHAPTER XIV— THE BLACK MAN'S TURN
"Some black witch hab done gwine wish a big hoodoo on me!" The man who could see in the dark. Tom in the grip of a black savage. Beade fails to overcome his assailant. A bitter battle. Sambo decides to drown the young engineer.
CHAPTER XV— A DAVID FOR A GOLIATH
Nicolas uses a club on Sambo's head. "Run for all you're worth for help!" cries Tom Reade. The giant is punched by a little man. "Nicolas, you surely are a little terror!" exclaims Tom. "You'll make a fine-looking jailbird." Prisoner and captor disappear.
CHAPTER XVI— A TEST OF REAL NERVE
Reade on the trail of the explosive tubes. "A fine job for a dark night, sir." The chief engineer goes under water for the deadly tubes. A desperate chance. A bloodhound on the Mexican's trail. A shoe as a clue. Tom Reade is startled.
CHAPTER XVII— TOM MAKES AN UNEXPECTED CAPTURE
Nicolas rescues himself, and gives his master a solar plexus jolt. The Mexican knows the man who knocked him out. "Arrest Evarts on a charge of felony!" orders young Reade. Police take up the search. Dick Prescott makes a dramatic entrance on the scene.
CHAPTER XVIII— THE ARMY "ON THE JOB"
Old friends have an exciting meeting. Harry gets a surprise, too. Dick Prescott declares his eagerness to get into the fight. The boys suspect a "vice trust." Dick sights a "hostile ship." Gridley Boys board the enemy's craft.
CHAPTER XIX— A NEW MYSTERY PEEPS IN
Evarts, on board, threatens to shoot. The occupants of the boat are placed under arrest. Bascomb bails out Tom's disgraced former foreman. Mystery in the reason. Mr. Prenter is shocked. The news casts a gloom over Tom Reade and his friends.
CHAPTER XX— A SECRET IN SIGHT
Circumstances form a strange combination. Gridley Boys set out on a new and thrilling adventure. Tom Reade makes a staggering discovery, which Dick doesn't understand. Evarts and Bascomb meet in secret. Tom and Dick listen to a mysterious conversation.
CHAPTER XXI— EVARTS HEARS A NOISE
The discharged foreman demands a large sum of money from the company president. "You're a jailbird, just the same," jeers Evarts. A new visitor appears in the bushes. Tom hears himself sentenced to death. Gridley Boys are caught. "Shoot and shoot straight!"
CHAPTER XXII— MR. BASCOMB HEARS BAD NEWS
"Now I have you!" Dick uses football tactics and downs Evarts. A villain gets a mauling. Sambo makes a get-away. Evarts is safely landed in jail. A plot revealed. Gridley Boys feel pity for Mr. Bascomb. "Reade, you know my secret, and I'm in your power!"
CHAPTER XXIII— EBONY SAYS "THUMBS UP"
"You insult me, sir!" retorts Tom indignantly. Mr. Bascomb advised by his chief engineer to make a full confession to his board. The president recovers his manhood. Tom and Dick go out looking for trouble and find it.
CHAPTER XXIV— CONCLUSION
A black face and a brace of revolvers face the Gridley Boys. "Right foot— high foot," causes Sambo's downfall. Dick fires signal shots for assistance. Handcuffs snapped on the giant's wrists. Stern justice overtakes the plotters, and Gridley Boys triumph over their enemies.