TOM SWIFT AND HIS AERIAL WARSHIP
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Victor Appleton >> TOM SWIFT AND HIS AERIAL WARSHIP
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CHAPTER VIII
A SUSPECTED PLOT
The officer's words were so filled with meaning that Tom
started. Ned Newton, too, showed the effect he felt.
"Do you really mean that?" asked the young inventor, looking
around to make sure his father was not present. On account of
Professor Swift's weak heart, Tom wished to spare him all
possible worry.
"I certainly do mean it," insisted Lieutenant Marbury. "And,
while I am rather amazed at the news of the fire, for I did not
think the plotters would be so bold as that, it is in line with
what I expected, and what we suspected in Washington."
"And that was--what?" asked Tom.
"The existence of a well-laid plot, not only against our
government, but against you!"
"And why have they singled me out?" Tom demanded.
"I might as well tell it from the beginning," the officer went
on. "As long as you have not received any official warning from
Washington you had better hear the whole story. But are you sure
you had no word?"
"Well, now, I won't be so sure," Tom confessed. "I have been
working very hard, the last two days, making some intricate
calculations. I have rather neglected my mail, to tell you the
truth.
"And, come to think of it, there were several letters received
with the Washington postmark. But, I supposed they had to do with
some of my patents, and I only casually glanced over them. There
was one letter, though, that I couldn't make head or tail of."
"Ha! That was it!" cried the lieutenant. "It was the warning in
cipher or code. I didn't think they would neglect to send it to
you."
"But what good would it do me if I couldn't read it?" asked
Tom.
"You must also have received a method of deciphering the
message," the officer said. "Probably you overlooked that. The
Secret Service men sent you the warning in code, so it would not
be found out by the plotters, and, to make sure you could
understand it, a method of translating the cipher was sent in a
separate envelope. It is too bad you missed it."
"Yes, for I might have been on my guard," agreed Tom. "The red
shed might not have burned, but, as it was, only slight damage
was done."
"Owing to the fact that Tom put the fire out with sand ballast
from his dirigible!" cried Ned. "You should have seen it!"
"I should have liked to be here," the lieutenant spoke. "But,
if I were you, Tom Swift, I would take means to prevent a
repetition of such things."
"I shall," Tom decided. "But, if we want to talk, we had better
go to my office, where we can be more private. I don't want the
workmen to hear too much."
Now that the firing was over, a number of Tom's men from the
shops had assembled around the cannon. Most of them, the young
inventor felt, could be trusted, but in so large a gathering one
could never be sure.
"Did you come on from Washington yesterday?" asked Tom, as he,
Ned and the officer strolled toward the shed where was housed the
aerial warship.
"Yes, and I spent the night in New York. I arrived in town a
short time ago, and came right on out here. At your house I was
told you were over in the fields conducting experiments, so I
came on here."
"Glad you did," Tom said. "I'll soon have something to show
you, I hope. But I am interested in hearing the details of this
suspected plot. Are you sure one exists?"
"Perfectly sure," was the answer. "We don't know all the
details yet, nor who are concerned in it, but we are working on
the case. The Secret Service has several agents in the field.
"We are convinced in Washington," went on Lieutenant Marbury,
when he, Tom and Ned were seated in the private office, "that
foreign spies are at work against you and against our
government."
"Why against me?" asked Tom, in wonder.
"Because of the inventions you have perfected and turned over
to Uncle Sam--notably the giant cannon, which rivals anything
foreign European powers have, and the great searchlight, which
proved so effective against the border smugglers. The success of
those two alone, to say nothing of your submarine, has not only
made foreign nations jealous, but they fear you--and us," the
officer went on.
"Well, if they only take it out in fear--"
"But they won't!" interrupted the officer--"They are seeking to
destroy those inventions. More than once, of late, we have nipped
a plot just in time."
"Have they really tried to damage the big gun?" asked Tom,
referring to one he had built and set up at Panama.
"They have. And now this fire proves that they are taking other
measures--they are working directly against you."
"Why, I wonder?"
"Either to prevent you from making further inventions, or to
stop you from completing your latest--the aerial warship."
"But I didn't know the foreign governments knew about that,"
Tom exclaimed. "It was a secret."
"Few secrets are safe from foreign Spies," declared Lieutenant
Marbury. "They have a great ferreting-out system on the other
side. We are just beginning to appreciate it. But our own men
have not been idle."
"Have they really learned anything?" Tom asked.
"Nothing definite enough to warrant us in acting," was the
answer of the government man. "But we know enough to let us see
that the plot is far-reaching."
"Are the French in it?" asked Ned impulsively.
"The French! Why do you ask that?"
"Tell him about Eradicate, and the man who wanted to buy the
mule, Tom," suggested Ned.
Thereupon the young inventor mentioned the story told by
Eradicate. He also brought out the fire-bomb, and explained his
theory as to how it had operated to set the red shed ablaze.
"I think you are right," said Lieutenant Marbury. "And, as
regards the French, I might say they are not the only nation
banded to obtain our secrets--yours and the government's!"
"But I thought the French and the English were friendly toward
us!" Ned exclaimed.
"So they are, in a certain measure," the officer went on. "And
Russia is, too. But, in all foreign countries there are two
parties, the war party, as it might be called, and the peace
element.
"But I might add that it is neither France, England, nor Russia
that we must fear. It is a certain other great nation, which at
present I will not name."
"And you think spies set this fire?"
"I certainly do."
"But what measures shall I adopt against this plot?" Tom asked.
"We will talk that over," said Lieutenant Marbury. "But, before
I go into details, I want to give you another warning. You must
be very careful about--"
A sudden knock on the door interrupted the speaker.
CHAPTER IX
THE RECOIL CHECK
"Who is that?" asked Ned Newton, with a quick glance at his chum.
"I don't know," Tom answered. "I left orders we weren't to be
disturbed unless it was something important."
"May be something has happened," suggested the navy officer,
"another fire, perhaps, or a--"
"It isn't a fire," Tom answered. "The automatic alarm would be
ringing before this in that case."
The knock was repeated. Tom went softly to the door and opened
it quickly, to disclose, standing in the corridor, one of the
messengers employed about the shops.
"Well, what is it?" asked Tom a bit sharply.
"Oh, if you please, Mr. Swift," said the boy, "a man has applied
for work at the main office, and you know you left orders there
that if any machinists came along, we were to--"
"Oh, so I did," Tom exclaimed. "I had forgotten about that,"
he went on to Lieutenant Marbury and Ned. "I am in need of
helpers to rush through the finishing touches on my aerial
warship, and I left word, if any applied, as they often do,
coming here from other cities, that I wanted to see them. How
many are there?" Tom asked of the messenger.
"Two, this time. They both say they're good mechanics."
"That's what they all say," interposed Tom, with a smile. "But,
though they may be good mechanics in their own line, they need to
have special qualifications to work on airships. Tell them to
wait, Rodney," Tom went on to the lad, "and I'll see them
presently."
As the boy went away, and Tom closed the door, he turned to
Lieutenant Marbury.
"You were about to give me another warning when that
interruption came. You might complete it now."
"Yes, it was another warning," spoke the officer, "and one I
hope you will heed. It concerns yourself, personally."
"Do you mean he is in danger?" asked Ned quickly.
"That's exactly what I do mean," was the prompt reply. "In
danger of personal injury, if not something worse."
Tom did not seem as alarmed as he might reasonably have been
under the circumstances.
"Danger, eh?" he repeated coolly. "On the part of whom?"
"That's just where I can't warn you," the officer replied. "I
can only give you that hint, and beg of you to be careful."
"Do you mean you are not allowed to tell?" asked Ned
"No, indeed; it isn't that!" the lieutenant hastened to assure
the young man. "I would gladly tell, if I knew. But this plot,
like the other one, directed against the inventions themselves,
is so shrouded in mystery that I cannot get to the bottom of it.
"Our Secret Service men have been working on it for some time,
not only in order to protect you, because of what you have done
for the government, but because Uncle Sam wishes to protect his
own property, especially the searchlight and the big cannon. But,
though our agents have worked hard, they have not been able to
get any clues that would put them on the right trail.
"So we can only warn you to be careful, and this I do in all
earnestness. That was part of my errand in coming here, though,
of course, I am anxious to inspect the new aerial warship you
have constructed. So watch out for two things--your inventions,
and, more than all, your life!"
"Do you really think they would do me bodily harm?" Tom asked,
a trifle skeptical.
"I certainly do. These foreign spies are desperate. If they
cannot secure the use of these inventions to their own country,
they are determined not to let this country have the benefit of
them."
"Well, I'll be careful," Tom promised. "I'm no more anxious
than anyone else to run my head into danger, and I certainly
don't want any of my shops or inventions destroyed. The fire in
the red shed was as close as I want anything to come."
"That's right!" agreed Ned. "And, if there's anything I can do,
Tom, don't hesitate to call on me."
"All right, old man. I won't forget. And now, perhaps, you
would like to see the Mars," he said to the lieutenant.
"I certainly would," was the ready answer. "But hadn't you
better see those men who are waiting to find out about positions
here?"
"There's no hurry about them," Tom said. "We have applicants
every day, and it's earlier than the hour when I usually see
them. They can wait. Now I want your opinion on my new craft.
But, you must remember that it is not yet completed, and only
recently did I begin to solve the problem of mounting the guns.
So be a little easy with your criticisms."
Followed by Ned and Lieutenant Marbury, Tom led the way into
the big airship shed. There, Swaying about at its moorings, was
the immense aerial warship. To Ned's eyes it looked complete
enough, but, when Tom pointed out the various parts, and
explained to the government officer how it was going to work, Ned
understood that considerable yet remained to be done on it.
Tom showed his official guest how a new system of elevation and
depressing rudders had ben adopted, how a new type of propeller
was to be used and indicated several other improvements. The
lower, or cabin, part of the aircraft could be entered by
mounting a short ladder from the ground, and Tom took Ned and
Lieutenant Marbury through the engine-room and other compartments
of the Mars.
"It certainly is most complete," the officer observed. "And
when you get the guns mounted I shall be glad to make an official
test. You understand," he went on, to Tom, "that we are vitally
interested in the guns, since we now have many aircraft that can
be used purely for scouting purposes. What we want is something
for offense, a veritable naval terror of the seas."
"I understand," Tom answered. "And I am going to begin work on
mounting the guns at once. I am going to use the Newton recoil
check," he added. "Ned, here, is responsible for that."
"Is that so?" asked the lieutenant, as Tom clapped his chum on
the back.
"Yes, that's his invention."
"Oh, it isn't anything of the sort," Ned objected. "I just--"
"Yes, he just happened to solve the problem for me!"
interrupted Tom, as he told the story of the door-spring.
"A good idea!" commented Lieutenant Marbury.
Tom then briefly described the principle on which his aerial
warship would work, explaining how the lifting gas would raise
it, with its load of crew, guns and explosives, high into the
air; how it could then be sent ahead, backward, to either side,
or around in a circle, by means of the propellers and the
rudders, and how it could be raised or lowered, either by rudders
or by forcing more gas into the lifting bags, or by letting some
of the vapor out.
And, while this was being done by the pilot or captain in
charge, the crew could be manning the guns with which hostile
airships would be attacked, and bombs dropped on the forts or
battleships of the enemy.
"It seems very complete," observed the lieutenant. "I shall be
glad when I can give it an official test."
"Which ought to be in about a week," Tom said. "Meanwhile I
shall be glad if you will be my guest here."
And so that was arranged.
Leaving Ned and the lieutenant to entertain each other, Tom
went to see the mechanics who had applied for places. He found
them satisfactory and engaged them. One of them had worked for
him before. The other was a stranger, but he had been employed in
a large aeroplane factory, and brought good recommendations.
There followed busy days at the Swift plant, and work was
pushed on the aerial warship. The hardest task was the mounting
of the guns, and equipping them with the recoil check, without
which it would be impossible to fire them with the craft sailing
through the air.
But finally one of the big guns, and two of the smaller ones
were in place, with the apparatus designed to reduce the recoil
shock, and then Tom decided to have a test of the Mars.
"Up in the air, do you mean?" asked Ned, who was spending all
his spare time with his chum.
"Well, a little way up in the air, at least," Tom answered.
"I'll make a sort of captive balloon of my craft, and see how she
behaves. I don't want to take too many chances with that new
recoil check, though it seems to work perfectly in theory."
The day came when, for the first time, the Mars was to come out
of the big shed where she had been constructed. The craft was not
completed for a flight as yet, but could be made so in a few
days, with rush work. The roof of the great shed slid back, and
the big envelope containing the buoyant gas rose slowly upward.
There was a cry of surprise from the many workmen in the yard, as
they saw, most of them for the first time, the wonderful new
craft. It did not go up very high, being held in place with
anchor ropes.
The sun glistened on the bright brass and nickel parts, and
glinted from the gleaming barrels of the quick-firing guns.
"That's enough!" Tom called to the men below, who were paying
out the ropes from the windlasses. "Hold her there."
Tom, Ned, Lieutenant Marbury and Mr. Damon were aboard the
captive Mars.
Looking about, to see that all was in readiness, Tom gave
orders to load the guns, blank charges being used, of course.
The recoil apparatus was in place, and it now remained to see
if it would do the work for which it was designed.
"All ready?" asked the young inventor.
"Bless my accident insurance policy!" exclaimed Mr. Damon. "I'm
as ready as ever I shall be, Tom. Let 'em go!"
"Hold fast!" cried Tom, as he prepared to press the electrical
switch which would set off the guns. Ned and Lieutenant Marbury
stood near the indicators to notice how much of the recoil would
be neutralized by the check apparatus.
"Here we go!" cried the young inventor, and, at the same
moment, from down below on the ground, came a warning cry:
"Don't shoot, Massa Tom. Don't shoot! Mah mule, Boomerang--"
But Eradicate had spoken too late. Tom pressed the switch;
there was a deafening crash, a spurt of flame, and then followed
wild cries and confused shouts, while the echoes of the reports
rolled about the hills surrounding Shopton.
CHAPTER X
THE NEW MEN
"What was the matter down there?"
"Was anyone hurt?"
"Don't forget to look at those pressure gauges!"
"Bless my ham sandwich!"
Thus came the cries from those aboard the captive Mars. Ned,
Lieutenant Marbury and Tom had called out in the order named.
And, of course, I do not need to tell you what remark Mr. Damon
made. Tom glanced toward where Ned and the government man stood,
and saw that they had made notes of the pressure recorded on the
recoil checks directly after the guns were fired. Mr. Damon,
blessing innumerable objects under his breath, was looking over
the side of the rail to discover the cause of the commotion and
cries of warning from below.
"I don't believe it was anything serious, Tom," said the odd
man. "No one seems to be hurt." "Look at Eradicate!" suddenly
exclaimed Ned.
"And his mule! I guess that's what the trouble was, Tom!"
They looked to where the young bank employee pointed, and saw
the old colored man, seated on the seat of his ramshackle wagon,
doing his best to pull down to a walk the big galloping mule,
which was dragging the vehicle around in a circle.
"Whoa, dere!" Eradicate was shouting, as he pulled on the
lines. "Whoa, dere! Dat's jest laik yo', Boomerang, t' run when
dere ain't no call fo' it, nohow! Ef I done wanted yo' t' git a
move on, yo'd lay down 'side de road an' go to sleep. Whoa, now!"
But the noise of the shots had evidently frightened the long-
eared animal, and he was in no mood for stopping, now that he had
once started. It was not until some of the workmen ran out from
the group where they had gathered to watch Tom's test, and got in
front of Boomerang, that they succeeded in bringing him to a
halt.
Eradicate climbed slowly down from the seat, and limped around
until he stood in front of his pet.
"Yo'--yo're a nice one, ain't yo'?" he demanded in sarcastic
tones. "Yo' done enough runnin' in a few minutes fo' a week ob
Sundays, an' now I won't be able t' git a move out ob ye! I'se
ashamed ob yo', dat's what I is! Puffickly ashamed ob yo'. Go
'long, now, an' yo' won't git no oats dish yeah day! No sah!"
and, highly indignant, Eradicate led the now slowly-ambling mule
off to the stable.
"I won't shoot again until you have him shut up, Rad!" laughed
Tom. "I didn't know you were so close when I set off those guns."
"Dat's all right, Mass a Tom," was the reply. "I done called t'
you t' wait, but yo' didn't heah me, I 'spects. But it doan't
mattah, now. Shoot all yo' laik, Boomerang won't run any mo' dis
week. He done runned his laigs off now. Shoot away!"
But Tom was not quite ready to do this. He wanted to see what
effect the first shots had had on his aerial warship, and to
learn whether or not the newly devised recoil check had done what
was expected of it.
"No more shooting right away," called the young inventor. "I
want to see how we made out with the first round. How did she
check up, Ned?"
"Fine, as far as I can tell."
"Yes, indeed," added Lieutenant Marbury. "The recoil was hardly
noticeable, though, of course, with the full battery of guns in
use, it might be more so."
"I hope not," answered Tom. "I haven't used the full strength
of the recoil check yet. I can tune it up more, and when I do,
and when I have it attached to all the guns, big and little, I
think we'll do the trick. But now for a harder test."
The rest of that day was spent in trying out the guns, firing
them with practice and service charges, though none of the shells
used contained projectiles. It would not have been possible to
shoot these, with the Mars held in place in the midst of Tom's
factory buildings.
"Well, is she a success, Tom?" asked Ned, when the
experimenting was over for the time being.
"I think I can say so--yes," was the answer, with a questioning
look at the officer.
"Indeed it is--a great success! We must give the Newton shock
absorber due credit."
Ned blushed with pleasure.
"It was only my suggestion," he said. "Tom worked it all out."
"But I needed the Suggestion to start with," the young inventor
replied.
"Of course something may develop when you take your craft high
in the air, and discharge the guns there," said the lieutenant.
"In a rarefied atmosphere the recoil check may not be as
effective as at the earth's surface. But, in such case doubtless,
you can increase the strength of the springs and the hydrostatic
valves."
"Yes, I counted on that," Tom explained. "I shall have to work
out that formula, though, and be ready for it. But, on the whole,
I am pretty well satisfied."
"And indeed you may well feel that way," commented the
government official.
The Mars was hauled back into the shed, and the roof slid shut
over the craft. Much yet remained to do on it, but now that Tom
was sure the important item of armament was taken care of, he
could devote his entire time to the finishing touches.
As his plant was working on several other pieces of machinery,
some of it for the United States Government, and some designed
for his own use, Tom found himself obliged to hire several new
hands. An advertisement in a New York newspaper brought a large
number of replies, and for a day or two Tom was kept busy sifting
out the least desirable, and arranging to see those whose answers
showed they knew something of the business requirements.
Meanwhile Lieutenant Marbury remained as Tom's guest, and was
helpful in making suggestions that would enable the young
inventor to meet the government's requirements.
"I'd like, also, to get on the track of those spies who, I am
sure, wish to do you harm," said the lieutenant, "but clues seem
to be scarce around here."
"They are, indeed," agreed Tom. "I guess the way in which we
handled that fire in the red shed sort of discouraged them."
Lieutenant Marbury shook his head.
"They're not so easily discouraged as that," he remarked. "And,
with the situation in Europe growing more acute every day, I am
afraid some of those foreigners will take desperate measures to
gain their ends."
"What particular ends do you mean?"
"Well, I think they will either try to so injure you that you
will not be able to finish this aerial warship, or they will
damage the craft itself, steal your plans, or damage some of your
other inventions."
"But what object would they have in doing such a thing?" Tom
wanted to know. "How would that help France, Germany or Russia,
to do me an injury?"
"They are seeking to strike at the United States through you,"
was the answer. "They don't want Uncle Sam to have such
formidable weapons as your great searchlight, the giant cannon,
or this new warship of the clouds."
"But why not, as long as the United States does not intend to
go to war with any of the foreign nations?" Tom inquired.
"No, it is true we do not intend to go to war with any of the
conflicting European nations," admitted Lieutenant Marbury, "but
you have no idea how jealous each of those foreign nations is of
all the others. Each one fears that the United States will cease
to be neutral, and will aid one or the other."
"Oh, so that's' it?" exclaimed Tom.
"Yes, each nation, which may, at a moments notice, be drawn
into a war with one or more rival nations, fears that we may
throw in our lot with its enemies."
"And, to prevent that, they want to destroy some of my
inventions?" asked Tom.
"That's the way I believe it will work out. So you must be
careful, especially since you have taken on so many new men."
"That's so," agreed the young inventor. "I have had to engage
more strangers than ever before, for I am anxious to get the
Mars finished and give it a good test. And, now that you have
mentioned it, there are some of those men of whom I am a bit
suspicious."
"Have they done anything to make you feel that way?" asked the
lieutenant.
"Well, not exactly; it is more their bearing, and the manner in
which they go about the works. I must keep my eye on them, for it
takes only a few discontented men to spoil a whole shop full. I
will be on my guard."
"And not only about your new airship and other inventions,"
said the officer, "but about yourself, personally. Will you do
that?"
"Yes, though I don't imagine anything like that will happen."
"Well, be on your guard, at all events," warned Lieutenant
Marbury.
As Tom had said, he had been obliged to hire a number of new
men. Some of these were machinists who had worked for him, or his
father, on previous occasions, and, when tasks were few, had been
dismissed, to go to other shops. These men, Tom felt sure, could
be relied upon.
But there were a number of others, from New York, and other
large cities, of whom Tom was not so sure.
"You have more foreigners than I ever knew you to hire before,
Tom," his father said to him one day, coming back from a tour of
the shops.
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