Produced by Tom Szolyga
Tom Swift and His Airship
by
Victor Appleton
Contents
I An Explosion II Ned Sees Mysterious Men III Whitewashed IV A Trial Trip V Colliding With A Tower VI Getting Off The Roof VII Andy Tries A Trick VIII Winning a Prize IX The Runaway Auto X A Bag of Tools XI The "Red Cloud" Departs XII Some Startling News XIII Mr. Damon in Danger XIV Andy Gives the Clue XV Fired Upon XVI Over a Fiery Furnace XVII "Wanted--For Robbery!" XVIII Back for Vindication XIX Wrecked XX Tom Gets a Clue XXI On the Trail XXII The Sheriff on Board XXIII On To the Camp XXIV The Raid XXV Andy Gets His Reward
Chapter 1
An Explosion
"Are you all ready, Tom?"
"All ready, Mr. Sharp," replied a young man, who was stationed nearsome complicated apparatus, while the questioner, a dark man, with anervous manner, leaned over a large tank.
"I'm going to turn on the gas now," went on the man. "Look out foryourself. I'm not sure what may happen."
"Neither am I, but I'm ready for it. If it does explode it can't domuch damage."
"Oh, I hope it doesn't explode. We've had so much trouble with theairship, I trust nothing goes wrong now."
"Well, turn on the gas, Mr. Sharp," advised Tom Swift. "I'll watch thepressure gauge, and, if it goes too high, I'll warn you, and you canshut it off."
The man nodded, and, with a small wrench in his hand, went to one endof the tank. The youth, looking anxiously at him, turned his gaze nowand then toward a gauge, somewhat like those on steam boilers, whichgauge was attached to an aluminum, cigar-shaped affair, about five feetlong.
Presently there was a hissing sound in the small frame building wherethe two were conducting an experiment which meant much to them. Thehissing grew louder.
"Be ready to jump," advised Mr. Sharp.
"I will," answered the lad. "But the pressure is going up very slowly.Maybe you'd better turn on more gas."
"I will. Here she goes! Look out now. You can't tell what is going tohappen."
With a sudden hiss, as the powerful gas, under pressure, passed fromthe tank, through the pipes, and into the aluminum container, the handon the gauge swept past figure after figure on the dial.
"Shut it off!" cried Tom quickly. "It's coming too fast! Shut her off!"
The man sprang to obey the command, and, with nervous fingers, soughtto fit the wrench over the nipple of the controlling valve. Then hisface seemed to turn white with fear.
"I can't move it!" Mr. Sharp yelled. "It's jammed! I can't shut off thegas! Run! Look out! She'll explode!"
Tom Swift, the young inventor, whose acquaintance some of you havepreviously made, gave one look at the gauge, and seeing that thepressure was steadily mounting, endeavored to reach, and open, astop-cock, that he might relieve the strain. One trial showed him thatthe valve there had jammed too, and catching up a roll of blue printsthe lad made a dash for the door of the shop. He was not a secondbehind his companion, and hardly had they passed out of the structurebefore there was a loud explosion which shook the building, andshattered all the windows in it.
Pieces of wood, bits of metal, and a cloud of sawdust and shavings flewout of the door after the man and the youth, and this was followed by acloud of yellowish smoke.
"Are you hurt, Tom?" cried Mr. Sharp, as he swung around to look backat the place where the hazardous experiment had been conducted.
"Not a bit! How about you?"
"I'm all right. But it was touch and go! Good thing you had the gaugeon or we'd never have known when to run. Well, we've made anotherfailure of it," and the man spoke somewhat bitterly.
"Never mind, Mr. Sharp," went on Tom Swift. "I think it will be thelast mistake. I see what the trouble is now; and know how to remedy it.Come on back, and we'll try it again; that is if the tank hasn't blownup."
"No, I guess that's all right. It was the aluminum container that wentup, and that's so light it didn't do much damage. But we'd better waituntil some of those fumes escape. They're not healthy to breathe."
The cloud of yellowish smoke was slowly rolling away, and the man andlad were approaching the shop, which, in spite of the explosion thathad taken place in it, was still intact, when an aged man, coming froma handsome house not far off, called out, "Tom, is anyone hurt?"
"No, dad. We're all right."
"What happened?"
"Well, we had another explosion. We can't seem to get the right mixtureof the gas, but I think we've had the last of our bad luck. We'regoing to try it again. Up to now the gas has been too strong, the tanktoo weak, or else our valve control is bad."
"Oh dear, Mr. Swift! Do tell them to be careful!" a woman's voicechimed in. "I'm sure something dreadful will happen! This is about thetenth time something has blown up around here, and--"
"It's only the ninth, Mrs. Baggert," interrupted Tom, somewhatindignantly.
"Well, goodness me! Isn't nine almost as bad as ten? There I was, justputting my bread in the oven," went on Mrs. Baggert, the housekeeper,"and I was so startled that I dropped it, and now the dough is all overthe kitchen floor. I never saw such a mess."
"I'm sorry," answered the youth, trying not to laugh. "We'll see thatit doesn't happen again."
"Yes; that's what you always say," rejoined the motherly-looking woman,who looked after the interests of Mr. Swift's home.
"Well, we mean it this time," retorted the lad. "We see where ourmistake was; don't we. Mr. Sharp?"
"I think so," replied the other seriously.
"Come on back, and we'll see what damage was done," proposed Tom."Maybe we can rig up another container, mix some fresh gas, and makethe final experiment this afternoon."
"Now do be careful," cautioned Mr. Swift, the aged inventor, once more."I'm afraid you two have set too hard a task for yourselves this time."
"No we haven't, dad," answered his son. "You'll see us yet skimmingalong above the clouds."
"Humph! If you go above the clouds I shan't be very likely to see you.But go slowly, now. Don't blow the place up again."
Mr. Swift went into the house, followed by Mrs. Baggert, who was loudlybewailing the fate of her bread. Tom and Mr. Sharp started toward theshop where they had been working. It was one of several buildings,built for experimental purposes and patent work by Mr. Swift, near hishome.
"It didn't do so very much damage," observed Tom, as he peered inthrough a window, void of all the panes of glass. "We can start rightin."
"Hold on! Wait! Don't try it now!" exclaimed Mr. Sharp, who talked inshort, snappy sentences, which, however, said all he meant. "The fumesof that gas aren't good to breathe. Wait, until they have blown away.It won't be long. It's safer."
He began to cough, choking from the pungent odor, and Tom felt anunpleasant tickling sensation in his throat.
"Take a walk around," advised Mr. Sharp. "I'll be looking over the blueprints. Let's have 'em."
Tom handed over the roll he had grabbed up when he ran from the shop,just before the explosion took place, and, while his companion spreadthem out on his knee, as he sat on an upturned barrel, the lad walkedtoward the rear of the large yard. It was enclosed by a high boardfence, with a locked gate, but Tom, undoing the fastenings, stepped outinto a broad, green meadow at the rear of his father's property. As hedid so he saw three boys running toward him.
"Hello!" exclaimed our hero. "There are Andy Foger, Sam Snedecker andPete Bailey. I wonder what they're heading this way for?"
On the trio came, increasing their pace as they caught sight of Tom.Andy Foger, a red-haired and squint-eyed lad, a sort of town bully,with a rich and indulgent father, was the first to r
each the younginventor.
"How--how many are killed?" panted Andy.
"Shall we go for doctors?" asked Sam.
"Can we see the place?" blurted out Pete, and he had to sit down on thegrass, he was so winded.
"Killed? Doctors?" repeated Tom, clearly much puzzled. "What are youfellows driving at, anyhow?"
"Wasn't there a lot of people killed in the explosion we heard?"demanded Andy, in eager tones.
"Not a one," replied Tom.
"There was an explosion!" exclaimed Pete. "We heard it, and you can'tfool us!"
"And we saw the smoke," added Snedecker.
"Yes, there was a small explosion," admitted Tom, with a smile, "but noone was killed; or even hurt. We don't have such things happen in ourshops."
"Nobody killed?" repeated Andy questioningly, and the disappointmentwas evident in his tones.
"Nobody hurt?" added Sam, his crony, and he, too, showed his chagrin.
"All our run for nothing," continued Pete, another crony, in disgust.
"What happened?" demanded the red-haired lad, as if he had a right toknow. "We were walking along the lake road, and we heard an awfulracket. If the police come out here, you'll have to tell what it was,Tom Swift." He spoke defiantly.
"I've no objection to telling you or the police," replied Tom. "Therewas an explosion. My friend, Mr. Sharp, the balloonist, and I wereconducting an experiment with a new kind of gas, and it was too strong,that's all. An aluminum container blew up, but no particular damage wasdone. I hope you're satisfied."
"Humph! What you making, anyhow?" demanded Andy, and again he spoke asif he had a right to know.
"I don't know that it's any of your business," Tom came back at himsharply, "but, as everyone will soon know, I may as well tell you.We're building an airship."
"An airship?" exclaimed Sam and Pete in one breath.
"An airship?" queried Andy, and there was a sneer in his voice. "Well,I don't think you can do it, Tom Swift! You'll never build an airship;even if you have a balloonist to help you!"
"I won't, eh?" and Tom was a trifle nettled at the sneering manner ofhis rival.
"No, you won't! It takes a smarter fellow than you are to build anairship that will sail. I believe I could beat you at it myself."
"Oh, you think you could?" asked Tom, and this time he had mastered hisemotions. He was not going to let Andy Foger make him angry. "Maybeyou can beat me at racing, too?" he went on. "If you think so, bringout your Red Streak and I'll try the Arrow against her. I beat youtwice, and I can do it again!"
This unexpected taunt disconcerted Andy. It was the truth, for, morethan once had Tom, in his motor-boat, proved more than a match for thesquint-eyed bully and his cronies.
"Go back at him, Andy," advised Sam, in a low voice. "Don't take any ofhis guff!"
"I don't intend to," spluttered Andy. "Maybe you did beat me in theraces, because my motor wasn't working right," he conceded, "but youcan't do it again. Anyhow, that's got nothing to do with an airship.I'll bet you can't make one!"
"I don't bet," replied Tom calmly, "but if you wait a few weeks you'llsee me in an airship, and then, if you want to race the Red Streakagainst that, I'll accommodate you. Or, if you want to enter into acompetition to build a dirigible balloon or an aeroplane I'm willing."
"Huh! Think you're smart, don't you? Just because you helped save thatballoonist from being killed when his balloon caught fire," went onAndy, for want of something better to say. "But you'll never build anairship!"
"Of course he won't!" added Sam and Pete, bound to side with theircrony, to whom they were indebted for many automobile and motor-boatrides.
"Just wait," advised Tom, with a tantalizing smile. "Meanwhile, if youwant to try the Red Streak against the Arrow, I'm willing. I have anhour or so to spare."
"Aw, keep still!" muttered Andy, much discomfited, for the defeat ofhis speedy boat, by a much smaller and less powerful one, was a sorepoint with him. "You just wait, that's all. I'll get even with you!"
"Look here!" cried Tom, suddenly. "You always say that whenever I getthe best of you. I'm sick of hearing it. I consider that a threat, andI don't like it. If you don't look out, Andy Foger, you'll have troublewith me, and at no very distant date!"
Tom, with flashing eyes, and clenched fists, took a step forward. Andyshrank back.
"Don't be afraid of him," advised Sam. "We'll stand by you, Andy."
"I ain't afraid," muttered the red-haired lad, but it was noticed thathe shuffled off. "You just wait, I'll fix you," he added to Tom. Thebully was plainly in a rage.
The young inventor was about to reply, and, possibly would have made amore substantial rejoinder to Andy than mere words, when the gateopened, and Mr. Sharp stepped out.
"The fumes have all cleared away, Tom," he said. "We can go in theshop, now."
Without further notice of Andy Foger, Tom Swift turned aside, andfollowed the aeronaut into the enclosed yard.