CHAPTER VI
MARY'S ODD STORY
"Hello! Hello! Yes, this is Tom Swift. What's that? You've had anaccident? Great Scott, Mary! I hope you aren't hurt."
Ned overheard these words as he stood outside the temporary office,from inside which Tom Swift was telephoning.
"There's been an accident!" thought the financial manager. "I wonder ifI can help?"
He was about to hurry in to offer his services when he heard Tom laugh,and then he knew it was all right. He heard his chum say:
"I'll be right over and get you. Just where are you?"
Then followed a period of listening on the part of Tom, to be broken bythe words:
"All right, I'll be right with you. Lucky I have my Air Scout with me.You aren't afraid to ride in that, are you? No, that's good! I'll beright over. Ned is here with me, and I'll have him telephone to yourfather and mother."
With that Tom hung up the receiver and joined his chum.
"Mary had a slight automobile accident about five miles from here," Tomtold his chum. "Some green driver ran into her and dished one of herwheels. No one hurt, but she hasn't a spare wheel and can't navigate.She called me up at the house, not wishing to alarm her father, andMrs. Baggert told her you and I had come down to the dock, so shereached me here. I'll go in the small aeroplane and get her. Luckily Ileft it here the last time I made a trip. Will you call up Mary's homeand let them know she's all right and that I'll soon be home with her?They might hear an exaggerated account of the accident."
Ned promised to do this, and at once put in a call for the home of hischum's fiancee, while Tom had one of his men run out the Air Scout.This was an aeroplane recently perfected by the young inventor whichslipped through space with scarcely a sound. So silent was it that thecraft had been dubbed "Silent Sam," and it stood Tom in good stead asthose of you know who have read the volume just before the presentbook. This sky glider Tom would now use in going to the rescue of MaryNestor was not, however, the same large craft that figured in theprevious story. That airship had been given to the United Statesgovernment for war purposes. But Tom had built himself a smaller onefor his own use. It had the advantage of enabling him to carry on aconversation with his passenger when he took one aloft.
About a week before Tom and Ned had flown from Shopton to the dry dockwhere the submarine was being reconstructed in this small airship.Engine trouble had developed after they had landed, and they had goneback by automobile, leaving the Air Scout to be repaired. This had beendone, and now Tom intended to use it in going to Mary's rescue.
Now, when the Air Scout had been run out of the hangar, Tom climbedinto it.
"Sorry I can't take you along," he called to Ned, who had finishedtelephoning to Mary's home, "but, under the circumstances--"
"Two's company and three's a crowd!" laughed Ned. "I know!"
"No, I didn't mean that," Tom said. "You know Mary likes you, but thiswill carry only two."
"I know!" answered his chum. "On your way!"
And with an almost noiseless throb of her engine and a whirr of herpropeller, the aeroplane rolled swiftly over the level starting groundand took the air like a swan leaving its lake.
Tom did not rise to a great height, as he would need only a few minutesto reach the place where Mary was stalled by the accident to hermachine. Soon he was hovering over a level field, one of several thatlined the country highways in that section. A small crowd on theturnpike gathered about an evidently disabled automobile gave Tom theclew he needed, and presently he made a landing. Instantly the throngof country people who had gathered to look at the automobile crashdeserted that for a view of something more sensational--an airship.
Cautioning the boys who gathered about not to "monkey" with any of themechanism, Tom hastened over to where Mary was standing near her car.
"Are you sure you aren't hurt?" he asked her anxiously.
"Oh, yes, very sure," she replied, smiling at him. "It isn't much of anaccident--only one wheel smashed. We were both going slowly."
"But it was all my fault!" insisted a young fellow who had been drivingthe car that crashed into Mary's. "I'm all kinds of sorry, and ofcourse I'll pay all damages. I wanted this young lady to let me driveher home and then send a garage man to tow her car, but she said shehad other plans. I don't blame her for not wanting to ride in my jitneybus when I see what kind of car you have," and he looked over towardTom's aeroplane.
"Thank you, just the same," murmured Mary. "I'm not quite sure that itwas all your fault. But if you will be so good as to send a man aftermy machine I'll go back with Mr. Swift. Wait until I get my bag," sheadded, and she extracted it from the seat in her automobile. "There'llbe room for this, won't there?" she asked. "I've been shopping."
"You must have made some large purchases," laughed Tom, lookingcritically at the small bag. "Yes, there'll be room for that, allright."
He made a brief examination of Mary's machine, ascertaining that thedished wheel was the main damage, and then, having given the young manwho caused the accident directions for the garage attendant, Tom ledhis pretty companion across the field to the waiting airship.
Of course a crowd gathered to see them start off, and this was not longdelayed, as Tom was not fond of curiosity seekers. In a few minutes heand Mary were soaring aloft.
"Well, how are you?" he asked Mary, when they were alone well above theearth.
"Fine and dandy," she answered, smiling at him, for they were ridingside by side and could converse with little difficulty owing to thesilent running of Tom's latest invention. "I'm sorry to have called youaway from your work," she added, "but when Mrs. Baggert told me youwere at the submarine dock I thought perhaps you could run out and getme in your machine. I didn't expect you to fly to me."
"I'm always ready to do that!" exclaimed Tom, as he shot upward toavoid a bank of low-lying clouds. "Were you frightened at the crash inthe machine?"
"Not greatly. I saw it coming, and knew it was unavoidable. That chaphasn't been running autos very long, I imagine, and he lost his head inthe emergency. But I had my brakes on and he just coasted into me. Iwas lucky in that it wasn't worse."
"I should say so! Do you want to get right home?"
"I think I'd better. Mother and father may be a little worried aboutme. And they've had trouble enough of late."
"Trouble!" exclaimed Tom, in a questioning voice. "Anything serious?"
"No, just family financial matters. Not ours," she hastened to add, asshe saw Tom look quickly at her. "A relative. I shouldn't havementioned it, but father and mother are a little worried, and I don'twant to add to it."
"Of course not," agreed Tom. "If there's anything I can do?"
"Oh, I expected you to say that!" laughed Mary. "Thanks. If there iswe'll call on you. But it may all be straightened out. Father wasexpecting a message from Uncle Barton today. So, though I'd like totake a cloud-ride with you, I think I'd better get home."
"All right," agreed Tom. "I told Ned to telephone that you were allright, so they won't worry. And now try to enjoy yourself."
"I'll try," promised Mary, but it was obvious, even from the quickglances Tom gave her, that she was worried about something. Mary wasnot her usual, spontaneous, jolly self, and Tom realized it.
"Well, here we are!" he announced a little later, as they soared abovea level field not far from her home. "Sorry I can't let you down righton your roof, but it isn't flat enough nor big enough."
"Oh, I don't mind a little walk, especially as I didn't have to hike itall the way in from Bailey Corners," she said, referring to the placeof the automobile accident. "I suppose the time will come wheneverybody who now has an auto will have an airship and a landing place,or a starting place, for it at his own door," she added.
"Either that, or else we'll have airships so compact that they can setoff and land in as small a space as an auto now requires," said Tom."The latter would be the best solution, as one great disadvantage ofairships now is the manner of starting and sto
pping. It's too big."
Tom left his Air Scout in a field owned by Mr. Nestor, where he hadoften landed before, and walked up to the house with Mary.
"Oh, I'm glad you're back!" exclaimed Mrs. Nestor, when she saw the twocoming up the steps.
"You weren't worried, were you, after Ned telephoned?" asked Tom.
"Not exactly worried, but I thought perhaps he was making light of it.Do tell me what happened, Mary!"
Thereupon the girl related all the circumstances of the smash, and Tomadded his share of the story.
"Did father hear anything from Uncle Barton?" asked Mary, after hermother's curiosity had been satisfied.
"Yes," was the answer, in rather despondent tones, "he did, but thenews was not encouraging. The papers cannot be found."
"It's mother's brother we're talking about," Mary explained to Tom."Barton Keith in his name. Perhaps you remember him?"
"I've heard you speak of him," Tom admitted.
"Well," resumed Mary, "Uncle Barton is in a peck of trouble. He wasonce very rich, and he invested heavily in oil lands, in Oklahoma, Ibelieve."
"No, in Texas," corrected Mrs. Nestor.
"Yes, it was Texas," agreed Mary. "Well he bought, or got, somehow,shares in some valuable oil lands in Texas, and expected to double hisfortune. Now, instead, he's probably lost it all."
"That's too bad!" exclaimed Tom. "How did it happen?"
"In rather an odd way," went on Mary. "He really owns the lands, or atleast half of them, but he cannot prove his title because the papers heneeds were taken from him, and, he thinks, by a man he trusted. He'sbeen trying to get the documents back, and every day we've beenexpecting to hear that he has them, but mother says there has been noresult."
"No," said Mrs. Nestor. "My brother thought sure he had a trace of theman he believes has the papers, or who had them, but he lost track ofhim. If we could only find him--"
At that moment a maid came into the room to announce that Tom Swift waswanted at the telephone.