CHAPTER II
A MAN IN THE SNOW BANK
Tom Swift looked somewhat in surprise at his strange visitor. It hadall happened so suddenly, the offer had been such a strange one, theman himself--Mr. Period--was so odd, that our hero hardly knew what tothink. The moving picture agent continued pacing up and down the roomnow and then looking at his watch as if to note when the five minuteshad passed.
"No," said Tom to himself. "I'm not going to take this offer. There'stoo much work and risk attached to it. I want to stay at home and workon my noiseless motor for the airship. After that--well--I don't knowwhat I'll do. I'll tell Mr. Period that he needn't wait the fiveminutes. My mind is made up now!"
But as Tom was about to make this announcement, and dismiss his caller,he looked again at the visitor. There was something attractive abouthim--about his hasty way of talking, about his manner of interrupting,about the way he proposed matters. Tom was interested in spite ofhimself.
"Well," he reflected, "I may as well wait until the five minutes areup, anyhow."
Koku, the giant servant, glanced at his young master, as if to ask ifthere was anything that he could do. Tom shook his head, and then thebig man strolled over to the other side of the machine shop, at thesame time keeping a careful eye on Mr. Period.
While Tom is waiting for the time to expire, I will take a few minutesto tell you something more about him. Those of my friends who have readthe previous books in this series need no introduction to my hero, butthose who may chance upon this as their first book in the Tom Swiftseries, will like to be more formally introduced.
Tom, whose mother had been dead some years, lived with his father,Barton Swift, in the town of Shopton. Mr. Swift was an inventor ofprominence, and his son was fast following in his footsteps. A Mrs.Baggert kept house for the Swifts, and another member of the householdwas Eradicate Sampson, an aged colored man, who said he used to"eradicate" the dirt. He had been with Tom on many trips, but of latewas getting old and feeble. Then there was Garret Jackson, an engineeremployed by the Swifts. These were all the immediate members of thehousehold.
Tom had a chum, Ned Newton, who used to work in a bank, and there was agirl, Mary Nestor, a daughter of Amos Nestor, in which young lady Tomwas much interested.
Eradicate Sampson had a mule, Boomerang, of whom he thought almost asmuch as he did of Tom. Eradicate was a faithful friend and servant,but, of late, Koku, or August, the giant, had rather supplanted him. Imust not forget Mr. Wakefield Damon, of Waterfield, a village nearShopton. Mr. Damon was an odd man, always blessing everything. He andTom were good friends, and had been on many trips together.
The first book of the series was called "Tom Swift and HisMotor-Cycle," and related how Tom bought the cycle from Mr. Damon,after the latter had met with an accident on it, and it was in this waythat our hero became acquainted with the odd man.
Tom had many adventures on his motor-cycle, and, later on he secured amotor-boat, in which he beat his enemy, Andy Foger, in a race. Next Tombuilt an airship, and in this he went on a wonderful trip. Returningfrom this he and his father heard about a treasure sunken under theocean. In his submarine boat Tom secured the valuables, and made alarge sum for himself.
In his electric runabout, which was the swiftest car on the road, Tomwas able to save from ruin a bank in which his father was interested,and, a short time after that, he went on a trip in an airship, with aman who had invented a new kind. The airship was smashed, and fell toEarthquake Island, where there were some refugees from a shipwreck,among them being the parents of Mary Nestor. In the volume called "TomSwift and His Wireless Message," I told how he saved these people.
When Tom went among the diamond makers he had more strange adventures,on that trip discovering the secret of phantom mountain. He had badluck when he went to the caves of ice, for there his airship waswrecked.
When Tom made the trip in his sky racer he broke all records for anaerial flight, incidentally saving his father's life. It was some timeafter this when he invented an electric rifle, and went to elephantland, to rescue some missionaries from the red pygmies.
The eleventh volume of the series is called "Tom Swift in the Land ofGold," and relates his adventures underground, while the next one tellsof a new machine he invented--an air-glider--which he used to save theexiles of Siberia, incidentally, on that trip, finding a valuabledeposit of platinum.
As I have said, it was on his trip to giant land that Tom got his bigservant. This book, the thirteenth of the series, is called "Tom Swiftin Captivity," for the giants captured him and his friends, and it wasonly by means of their airship that they made their daring escape.
Tom had been back from the strange land some time now. One giant he hadturned over to the circus representative for whom he had undertaken themission, and the other he retained to work around his shop, asEradicate was getting too old. It was now winter, and there had beenquite a fall of snow the day before Mr. Period, the odd moving pictureman, called on Tom. There were many big drifts outside the building.
Tom had fitted up a well-equipped shop, where he and his father workedon their inventions. Occasionally Ned Newton, or Mr. Damon, would comeover to help them, but of late Tom had been so busy on his noiselessmotor that he had not had time to even see his friends.
"Well, I guess the five minutes have passed, and my mind is made up,"thought Tom, as he looked at his watch. "I might as well tell Mr.Period that I can't undertake his commission. In the first place itisn't going to be an easy matter to make an electric moving picturecamera. I'd have to spend a lot of time studying up the subject, andthen I might not be able to get it to work right.
"And, again, I can't spare the time to go to all sorts of wild andimpossible places to get the pictures. It's all well enough to talkabout getting moving pictures of natives in battle, or wild beastsfighting, or volcanoes in action, but it isn't so easy to do it. Then,too, I'd have to make some changes in my airship if I went on thattrip. No, I can't go. I'll tell him he'll have to find some one else."
Mr. Period pulled out his watch, opened it quickly, snapped it shutagain, and exclaimed:
"Well, how about it, Tom Swift? When can you start! The sooner thebetter for me! You'll want some money for expenses I think. I broughtmy check book along, also a fountain pen. I'll give you a thousanddollars now, for I know making an electric moving picture camera isn'tgoing to be cheap work. Then, when you get ready to start off in yourairship, you'll need more money. I'll be Johnny-on-the-spot all right,and have it ready for you. Now when do you think you can start?"
He sat down at a bench, and began filling out a check.
"Hold on!" cried Tom, amused in spite of himself. "Don't sign thatcheck, Mr. Period. I'm not going."
"Not going?" The man's face showed blank amazement.
"No," went on Tom. "I can't spare the time. I'm sorry, but you'll haveto get some one else."
"Some one else? But who can I get?"
"Why, there are plenty who would be glad of the chance."
"But they can't invent an electric moving picture camera, and, if theycould, they wouldn't know enough to take pictures with it. It's got tobe you or no one, Tom Swift. Look here, I'll make it fifteen thousanddollars above expenses."
"No, I'm sorry, but I can't go. My work here keeps me too busy.
"Oh, pshaw! Now, look here, Tom Swift! Do you know who sent me to seeyou?"
"It was Mr. Nestor, who has a daughter named Mary, I believe. Mr.Nestor is one of the directors in our company, and one day, when hetold me about you sending a wireless message from Earthquake Island, Iknew you would be the very man for me. So now you see you'll be doingMr. Nestor a favor, as well as me, if you go on this trip."
Tom was somewhat surprised, yet he realized that Mr. Period wasspeaking the truth. Mr. Nestor was identified with many newenterprises. Yet the youth was firm.
"I really can't go," said our hero. "I'd like to, but I can't. I'dlike to oblige Mr. Nestor, for--well, for more reasons than one," andTom
blushed slightly. "But it is out of the question. I really can'tgo."
"But you must!" insisted the camera man. "I won't take 'no' for ananswer. You've got to go, Tom Swift, do you hear that? You've go to go?"
Mr. Period was apparently very much excited. He strode over to Tom andsmote his hands together to emphasize what he said. Then he shook hisfinger at Tom, to impress the importance of the matter on our hero.
"You've just got to go!" he cried. "You're the only one who can helpme, Tom. Do go! I'll pay you well, and--oh, well, I know you don't needthe money, exactly, but--say, you've got to go!"
In his earnestness Mr. Period laid his hand on Tom's arm. The nextinstant something happened.
With a few big strides Koku was beside the picture man. With greatquickness he grasped Mr. Period by the coat collar, lifted him off hisfeet with one hand, and walked over to a window with him, easilylifting him above the floor.
With one fling the giant tossed the short, stout gentleman out into asnow bank, while Tom looked on, too surprised to do anything, even ifhe had had the chance.
"There. You touch Tom Swift again, and I sit on you and keep you undersnow!" cried the giant, while Mr. Period kicked and squirmed about inthe drift, as Tom made a leap forward to help him out.
Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera; Or, Thrilling Adventures While Taking Moving Pictures Page 2
