TOM SWIFT AND HIS AERIAL WARSHIP
V >>
Victor Appleton >> TOM SWIFT AND HIS AERIAL WARSHIP
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 | 8 |
9 |
10
"So you're going to give the guns a real test this time, is
that it, Tom?" asked Ned, as he pushed back his plate, a signal
that he had eaten enough.
"That's about it."
"But don't you think it's a bit risky out over the water this
way. Supposing something should--should happen?" Ned hesitated.
"You mean we might fall?" asked Tom, with a smile.
"Yes; or turn upside down."
"Nothing like that could happen. I'm so sure that I have solved
the problem of the recoil of the guns that I'm willing to take
chances. But if any of you want to get off the Mars while the
test is being made, I have a small boat I can lower, and let you
row about in that until--"
"No, thank you!" interrupted Mr. Damon, as he looked below.
There was quite a heavy swell on, and the ocean did not appear
very attractive. They would be much more comfortable in the big
Mars.
"I think you won't have any trouble," asserted Lieutenant
Marbury. "I believe Tom Swift has the right idea about the guns,
and there will be so small a shock from the recoil that it will
not be noticeable."
"We'll soon know," spoke Tom. "I'm going to get ready for the
test now."
They were now well out from shore, over the Atlantic, but to
make certain no ships would be endangered by the projectiles, Tom
and the others searched the waters to the horizon with powerful
glasses. Nothing was seen and the work of loading the guns was
begun. The bomb tubes, in the main cabin, were also to be given a
test.
As service charges were to be used, and as the projectiles were
filled with explosives, great care was needed in handling them.
"We'll try dropping bombs first," Tom suggested. "We know they
will work, and that will be so much out of the way."
To make the test a severe one, small floating targets were
first dropped overboard from the Mars. Then the aerial warship,
circling about, came on toward them. Tom, seated at the range-
finders, pressed the button that released the shells containing
the explosives. One after another they dropped into the sea,
exploding as they fell, and sending up a great column of salt
water.
"Every one a hit!" reported Lieutenant Marbury, who was keeping
"score."
"That's good," responded Tom. "But the others won't be so easy.
We have nothing to shoot at."
They had to fire the other guns without targets at which to
aim. But, after all, it was the absence of recoil they wanted to
establish, and this could be done without shooting at any
particular object.
One after another the guns were loaded. As has been explained,
they were now made double, one barrel carrying the projectile,
and the other a charge of water.
"Are you ready?" asked Tom, when it was time to fire.
Lieutenant Marbury, Ned and Mr. Damon were helping, by being
stationed at the pressure gauges to note the results.
"All ready," answered Ned.
"Do you think we'd better put on life preservers, Tom?" asked
Mr. Damon.
"Nonsense! What for?"
"In case--in case anything happens."
"Nothing will happen. Look out now, I'm going to fire."
The guns were to be fired simultaneously by means of an
electric current, when Tom pressed a button.
"Here they go!" exclaimed the young inventor.
There was a moment of waiting, and then came a thundering roar.
The Mars trembled, but she did not shift to either side from an
even keel. From one barrel of the guns shot out the explosive
projectiles, and from the other spurted a jet of water, sent out
by a charge of powder, equal in weight to that which forced out
the shot.
As the projectile was fired in one direction, and the water in
one directly opposite, the two discharges neutralized one
another.
Out flew the pointed steel shells, to fall harmlessly into the
sea, where they exploded, sending up columns of water.
"Well!" cried Tom as the echoes died away. "How was it?"
"Couldn't have been better," declared Lieutenant Marbury.
"There wasn't the least shock of recoil. Tom Swift, you have
solved the problem, I do believe! Your aerial warship is a
success!"
"I'm glad to hear you say so. There are one or two little
things that need changing, but I really think I have about what
the United States Government wants."
"I am, also, of that belief, Tom. If only--" The officer
stopped suddenly.
"Well?" asked Tom suggestively.
"I was going to say if only those foreign spies don't make
trouble."
"I think we've seen the last of them," Tom declared. "Now we'll
go on with the tests."
More guns were fired, singly and in batteries, and in each case
the Mars stood the test perfectly. The double barrel had solved
the recoil problem.
For some little time longer they remained out over the sea,
going through some evolutions to test the rudder control, and
then as their present object had been accomplished Tom gave
orders to head back to Shopton, which place was reached in due
time.
"Well, Tom, how was it?" asked Mr. Swift, for though his son
had said nothing to his friends about the prospective test, the
aged inventor knew about it.
"Successful, Dad, in every particular."
"That's good. I didn't think you could do it. But you did. I
tell you it isn't much that can get the best of a Swift!"
exclaimed the aged man proudly. "Oh, by the way, Tom, here's a
telegram that came while you were gone," and he handed his son
the yellow envelope.
Tom ripped it open with a single gesture, and in a flash his
eyes took in the words. He read:
"Look out for spies during trial flights."
The message was signed with a name Tom did not recognize.
"Any bad news?" asked Mr. Swift.
"No--oh, no," replied Tom, as he crumpled up the paper and
thrust it into his pocket. "No bad news, Dad."
"Well, I'm glad to hear that," went on Mr. Swift. "I don't like
telegrams."
When Tom showed the message to Lieutenant Marbury, that
official, after one glance at the signature, said:
"Pierson, eh? Well, when he sends out a warning it generally
means something."
"Who's Pierson?" asked Tom.
"Head of the Secret Service department that has charge of this
airship matter. There must be something in the wind, Tom."
Extra precautions were taken about the shops. Strangers were
not permitted to enter, and all future work on the Mars was kept
secret. Nevertheless, Tom was worried. He did not want his work
to be spoiled just when it was about to be a success. For that it
was a success, Lieutenant Marbury assured him. The government man
said he would have no hesitation in recommending the purchase of
Tom's aerial warship.
"There's just one other test I want to see made," he said.
"What is that?" Tom inquired.
"In a storm. You know we can't always count on having good
weather, and I'd like to see how she behaves in a gale."
"You shall!" declared the young inventor.
For the next week, during which finishing touches were put on
the big craft, Tom anxiously waited for signs of a storm. At last
they came. Danger signals were put up all along the coast, and
warnings were sent out broadcast by the Weather Bureau at
Washington.
One dull gray morning Tom roused his friends early and
announced that the Mars was going up.
"A big storm is headed this way," Tom said, "and we'll have a
chance to see how she behaves in it."
And even as the flight began, the forerunning wind and rain
came in a gust of fury. Into the midst of it shot the big aerial
warship, with her powerful propellers beating the moisture-laden
air.
CHAPTER XIX
QUEER HAPPENINGS
"Say, Tom, are you sure you're all right?"
"Of course I am! What do you mean?"
It was Ned Newton who asked the question, and Tom Swift who
answered it. The chums were in the pilot-house of the dipping,
swaying Mars, which was nosing her way into the storm, fighting
on an upward slant, trying, if possible, to get above the area of
atmospheric disturbance.
"Well, I mean are you sure your craft will stand all this
straining, pulling and hauling?" went on Ned, as he clung to a
brass hand rail, built in the side of the pilot-house wall for
the very purpose to which it was now being put.
"If she doesn't stand it she's no good!" cried Tom, as he clung
to the steering wheel, which was nearly torn from his hands by
the deflections of the rudders.
"Well, it's taking a big chance, it seems to me," went on Ned,
as he peered through the rain-spotted bull's-eyes of the pilot-
house.
"There's no danger," declared Tom. "I wanted to give the ship
the hardest test possible before I formally offered her to the
government. If she can't stand a blow like this she isn't what I
thought her, and I'll have to build another. But I'm sure she
will stand the racket, Ned. She's built strongly, and even if
part of the gas bag is carried away, as it was when our propeller
shattered, we can still sail. If you think this is anything, wait
until we turn about and begin to fight our way against the wind."
"Are you going to do that, Tom?"
"I certainly am. We're going with the gale now, to see what is
the highest rate of speed we can attain. Pretty soon I'm going to
turn her around, and see if she can make any headway in the other
direction. Of course I know she won't make much, if any speed,
against the gale; but I must give her that test."
"Well, Tom, you know best, of course," admitted Ned. "But to me
it seems like taking a big risk."
And indeed it did seem, not only to Ned, but to some of the
experienced men of Tom's crew, that the young inventor was taking
more chances than ever before, and Tom, as my old readers well
know, had, in his career, taken some big ones.
The storm grew worse as the day progressed, until it was a
veritable hurricane of wind and rain. The warnings of the Weather
Bureau had not been exaggerated. But through the fierce blow the
Mars fought her way. As Tom had said, she was going with the
wind. This was comparatively easy. But what would happen when she
headed into the storm?
Mr. Damon, in the main cabin, sat and looked at Lieutenant
Marbury, the eccentric man now and then blessing something as he
happened to think of it.
"Do you--do you think we are in any danger?" he finally asked.
"Not at present," replied the government expert.
"You mean we will be--later?"
"It's hard to say. I guess Tom Swift knows his business,
though."
"Bless my accident insurance policy!" murmured Mr. Damon. "I
wish I had stayed home. If my wife ever hears of this--" He did
not seem able to finish the sentence.
In the engine-room the crew were busy over the various
machines. Some of the apparatus was being strained to keep the
ship on her course in the powerful wind, and would be under a
worse stress when Tom turned his craft about. But, so far,
nothing had given way, and everything was working smoothly.
As hour succeeded hour and nothing happened, the timid ones
aboard began to take more courage. Tom never for a moment lost
heart. He knew what his craft could do, and he had taken her up
in a terrific storm with a definite purpose in view. He was the
calmest person aboard, with the exception, perhaps, of Koku. The
giant did not seem to know what fear was. He depended entirely on
Tom, and as long as his young master had charge of matters the
giant was content to obey orders.
There was to be no test of the guns this time. They had worked
sufficiently well, and, if need be, could have been fired in the
gale. But Tom did not want his men to take unnecessary risks, nor
was he foolhardy himself.
"We'll have our hands full when we turn around and head into
the wind," he said to his chum. "That will be enough."
"Then you're really going to give the Mars that test?"
"I surely am. I don't want any comebacks from Uncle Sam after
he accepts my aerial warship. I've guaranteed that she'll stand
up and make headway against a gale, and I'm going to prove it."
Lieutenant Marbury was told of the coming trial, and he
prepared to take official note of it. While matters were being
gotten in readiness Tom turned the wheel over to his assistant
pilot and went to the engine-room to see that everything was in
good shape to cope with any emergency. The rudders had been
carefully examined before the flight was made, to make sure they
would not fail, for on them depended the progress of the ship
against the powerful wind.
"I rather guess those foreign spies have given up trying to do
Tom an injury," remarked Ned to the lieutenant as they sat in the
main cabin, listening to the howl of the wind, and the dash of
the rain.
"Well, I certainly hope so," was the answer. "But I wouldn't be
too sure. The folks in Washington evidently think something is
likely to happen, or they wouldn't have sent that warning
telegram."
"But we haven't seen anything of the spies," Ned remarked.
"No, but that isn't any sign they are not getting ready to make
trouble. This may be the calm before the storm. Tom must still be
on the lookout. It isn't as though his inventions alone were in
danger, for they would not hesitate to inflict serious personal
injury if their plans were thwarted."
"They must be desperate."
"They are. But here comes Tom now. He looks as though something
new was about to happen."
"Take care of yourselves now," advised the young aero-inventor,
as he entered the cabin, finding it hard work to close the door
against the terrific wind pressure.
"Why?" asked Ned.
"Because we are going to turn around and fight our way back
against the gale. We may be turned topsy-turvy for a second or
two."
"Bless my shoe-horn!" cried Mr. Damon. "Do you mean upside
down, Tom?"
"No, not that exactly. But watch out!"
Tom went forward to the pilot-house, followed by Ned and the
lieutenant. The latter wanted to take official note of what
happened. Tom relieved the man at the wheel, and gradually began
to alter the direction of the craft.
At first no change was noticeable. So strong was the force of
the wind that it seemed as though the Mars was going in the same
direction. But Ned, noticing a direction compass on the wall, saw
that the needle was gradually shifting.
"Hold fast!" cried Tom suddenly. Then with a quick shift of the
rudder something happened. It seemed as though the Mars was
trying to turn over, and slide along on her side, or as if she
wanted to turn about and scud before the gale, instead of facing
it. But Tom held her to the reverse course.
"Can you get her around?" cried the lieutenant above the roar
of the gale.
"I--I'm going to!" muttered Tom through his set teeth.
Inch by inch he fought the big craft through the storm. Inch by
inch the indicator showed the turning, until at last the grip of
the gale was overcome.
"Now she's headed right into it!" cried Tom in exultation.
"She's nosing right into it!"
And the Mars was. There was no doubt of it. She had succeeded,
under Tom's direction, in changing squarely about, and was now
going against the wind, instead of with it.
"But we can't expect to make much speed," Tom said, as he
signaled for more power, for he had lowered it somewhat in making
the turn.
But Tom himself scarcely had reckoned on the force of his
craft, for as the propellers whirled more rapidly the aerial
warship did begin to make headway, and that in the teeth of a
terrific wind.
"She's doing it, Tom! She's doing it!" cried Ned exultingly.
"I believe she is," agreed the lieutenant.
"Well, so much the better," Tom said, trying to be calm. "If
she can keep this up a little while I'll give her a rest and
we'll go up above the storm area, and beat back home."
The Mars, so far, had met every test. Tom had decided on ten
minutes more of gale-fighting, when from the tube that
communicated with the engine-room came a shrill whistle.
"See what that is, Ned," Tom directed.
"Yes," called Ned into the mouthpiece. "What's the matter?"
"Short circuit in the big motor," was the reply. "We've got to
run on storage battery. Send Tom back here! Something queer has
happened!"
CHAPTER XX
THE STOWAWAYS
Ned repeated the message breathlessly.
"Short circuit!" gasped Tom. "Run on storage battery! I'll have
to see to that. Take the wheel somebody!"
"Wouldn't it be better to turn about, and run before the wind,
so as not to put too great a strain on the machinery?" asked
Lieutenant Marbury.
"Perhaps," agreed Tom. "Hold her this way, though, until I see
what's wrong!"
Ned and the government man took the wheel, while Tom hurried
along the runway leading from the pilot-house to the machinery
cabin. The gale was still blowing fiercely.
The young inventor cast a hasty look about the interior of the
place as he entered. He sniffed the air suspiciously, and was
aware of the odor of burning insulation.
"What happened?" he asked, noting that already the principal
motive power was coming from the big storage battery. The shift
had been made automatically, when the main motor gave out.
"It's hard to say," was the answer of the chief engineer. "We
were running along all right, and we got your word to switch on
more power, after the turn. We did that all right, and she was
running as smooth as a sewing-machine, when, all of a sudden, she
short-circuited, and the storage battery cut in automatically."
"Think you put too heavy a load on the motor?" Tom asked.
"Couldn't have been that. The shunt box would have taken that
up, and the circuit-breaker would have worked, saving us a burn-
out, and that's what happened-a burn-out. The motor will have to
be rewound."
"Well, no use trying to fight this gale with the storage
battery," Tom said, after a moment's thought. "We'll run before
it. That's the easiest way. Then we'll try to rise above the
wind."
He sent the necessary message to the pilot-house. A moment
later the shift was made, and once more the Mars was scudding
before the storm. Then Tom gave his serious attention to what had
happened in the engine room.
As he bent over the burned-out motor, looking at the big shiny
connections, he saw something that startled him. With a quick
motion Tom Swift picked up a bar of copper. It was hot to the
touch--so hot that he dropped it with a cry of pain, though he
had let go so quickly that the burn was only momentary.
"What's the matter?" asked Jerry Mound, Tom's engineer.
"Matter!" cried Tom. "A whole lot is the matter! That copper
bar is what made the short circuit. It's hot yet from the
electric current. How did it fall on the motor connections?"
The engine room force gathered about the young inventor. No one
could explain how the copper bar came to be where it was.
Certainly no one of Tom's employees had put it there, and it
could not have fallen by accident, for the motor connections were
protected by a mesh of wire, and a hand would have to be thrust
under them to put the bar in place. Tom gave a quick look at his
men. He knew he could trust them--every one. But this was a queer
happening.
For a moment Tom did not know what to think, and then, as the
memory of that warning telegram came to him, he had an idea.
"Were any strangers in this cabin before the start was made?"
he asked Mr. Mound.
"Not that I know of," was the answer.
"Well, there may be some here now," Tom said grimly. "Look
about."
But a careful search revealed no one. Yet the young inventor
was sure the bar of copper, which had done the mischief of
short-circuiting the motor, had been put in place deliberately.
In reality there was no danger to the craft, since there was
power enough in the storage battery to run it for several hours.
But the happening showed Tom he had still to reckon with his
enemies.
He looked at the height gauge on the wall of the motor-room,
and noted that the Mars was going up. In accordance with Tom's
instructions they were sending her above the storm area. Once
there, with no gale to fight, they could easily beat their way
back to a point above Shopton, and make the best descent
possible.
And that was done while, under Tom's direction, his men took
the damaged motor apart, with a view to repairing it.
"What was it, Tom?" asked Ned, coming back to join his chum,
after George Ventor, the assistant pilot, had taken charge of the
wheel.
"I don't exactly know, Ned," was the answer. "But I feel
certain that some of my enemies came aboard here and worked this
mischief."
"Your enemies came aboard?"
"Yes, and they must be here now. The placing of that copper bar
proves it."
"Then let's make a search and find them, Tom. It must be some
of those foreign spies."
"Just what I think."
But a more careful search of the craft than the one Tom had
casually made revealed the presence of no one. All the crew and
helpers were accounted for, and, as they had been in Tom's
service for some time, they were beyond suspicion. Yet the fact
remained that a seemingly human agency had acted to put the main
motor out of commission. Tom could not understand it.
"Well, it sure is queer," observed Ned, as the search came to
nothing.
"It's worse than queer," declared Tom, "it's alarming! I don't
know when I'll be safe if we have ghosts aboard."
"Ghosts?" repeated Ned.
"Well, when we can't find out who put that bar in place I might
as well admit it was a ghost," spoke Tom. "Certainly, if it was
done by a man, he didn't jump overboard after doing it, and he
isn't here now. It sure is queer!"
Ned agreed with the last statement, at any rate.
In due time the Mars, having fought her way above the storm,
came over Shopton, and then, the wind having somewhat died out,
she fought her way down, and, after no little trouble, was housed
in the hangar.
Tom cautioned his friends and workmen to say nothing to his
father about the mysterious happening on board.
"I'll just tell him we had a slight accident, and let it go at
that," Tom decided. "No use in causing him worry."
"But what are you going to do about it?" asked Ned.
"I'm going to keep careful watch over the aerial warship, at
any rate," declared Tom. "If there's a hidden enemy aboard, I'll
starve him out."
Accordingly, a guard, under the direction of Koku, was posted
about the big shed, but nothing came of it. No stranger was
observed to sneak out of the ship, after it had been deserted by
the crew. The mystery seemed deeper than ever.
It took nearly a week to repair the big motor, and, during this
time, Tom put some improvements on the airship, and added the
finishing touches.
He was getting it ready for the final government test, for the
authorities in Washington had sent word that they would have
Captain Warner, in addition to Lieutenant Marbury, make the final
inspection and write a report.
Meanwhile several little things occurred to annoy Tom. He was
besieged with applications from new men who wanted to work, and
many of these men seemed to be foreigners. Tom was sure they were
either spies of some European nations, or the agents of spies,
and they got no further than the outer gate.
But some strangers did manage to sneak into the works, though
they were quickly detected and sent about their business. Also,
once or twice, small fires were discovered in outbuildings, but
they were soon extinguished with little damage. Extra vigilance
was the watchword.
"And yet, with all my precautions, they may get me, or damage
something," declared Tom. "It is very annoying!"
"It is," agreed Ned, "and we must be doubly on the lookout."
So impressed was Ned with the necessity for caution that he
arranged to take his vacation at this time, so as to be on hand
to help his chum, if necessary.
The Mars was nearing completion. The repaired motor was better
than ever, and everything was in shape for the final test. Mr.
Damon was persuaded to go along, and Koku was to be taken, as
well as the two government officials.
The night before the trip the guards about the airship shed
were doubled, and Tom made two visits to the place before
midnight. But there was no alarm.
Consequently, when the Mars started off on her final test, it
was thought that all danger from the spies was over.
"She certainly is a beauty," said Captain Warner, as the big
craft shot upward. "I shall be interested in seeing how she
stands gun fire, though."
"Oh, she'll stand it," declared Lieutenant Marbury. The trip
was to consume several days of continuous flying, to test the
engines. A large supply of food and ammunition was aboard.
It was after supper of the first day out, and our friends were
seated in the main cabin laying out a program for the next day,
when sudden yells came from a part of the motor cabin devoted to
storage. Koku, who had been sent to get out a barrel of oil, was
heard to shout.
"What's up?" asked Tom, starting to his feet. He was answered
almost at once by more yells.
"Oh, Master! Come quickly!" cried the giant. "There are many
men here. There are stowaways aboard!"
CHAPTER XXI
PRISONERS
For a moment, after hearing Koku's reply, neither Tom nor his
friends spoke. Then Ned, in a dazed sort of way, repeated:
"Stowaways!"
"Bless my--" began Mr. Damon, but that was as far as he got.
From the engine compartment, back of the amidship cabin, came a
sound of cries and heavy blows. The yells of Koku could be heard
above those of the others.
Then the door of the cabin where Tom Swift and his friends were
was suddenly burst open, and seven or eight men threw themselves
within. They were led by a man with a small, dark mustache and a
little tuft of whiskers on his chin--an imperial. He looked the
typical Frenchman, and his words, snapped out, bore out that
belief.
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 | 8 |
9 |
10