Tom Swift and His Air Scout; Or, Uncle Sam's Mastery of the Sky

by Victor Appleton

  Produced by Anthony Matonac

  TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIR SCOUT

  or

  Uncle Sam's Mastery of the Sky

  by

  Victor Appleton

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER

  I A SKY RIDE II A NEW IDEA III THE BIG OFFER IV MR. DAMON'S WHIZZER V TOM'S PROJECT VI MAKING PLANS VII A PROBLEM IN SOUND VIII THROUGH THE ROOF IX AFTER A SPY X A BIG SPLASH XI A NIGHT TRIP XII THE CRY FOR HELP XIII SOMETHING QUEER XIV THE TELEPHONE CALL XV A VAIN SEARCH XVI THE LONG NIGHT XVII SILENT SAM XVIII SUSPICIONS XIX ANOTHER FLIGHT XX QUEER MARKS XXI THE DESERTED CABIN XXII CLEWS AT LAST XXIII THE GOVERNMENT TEST XXIV IN THE MOONLIGHT XXV THE GOLD TOOTH

  TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIR SCOUT

  CHAPTER I

  A SKY RIDE

  "Oh Tom, is it really safe?"

  A young lady--an exceedingly pretty young lady, she could becalled--stood with one small, gloved hand on the outstretched wing ofan aeroplane, and looked up at a young man, attired in a leather,fur-lined suit, who sat in the cockpit of the machine just above her.

  "Safe, Mary?" repeated the pilot, as he reached in under the hood ofthe craft to make sure about one of the controls. "Why, you ought toknow by this time that I wouldn't go up if it wasn't safe!"

  "Oh, yes, I know, Tom. It may be all right for you, but I've never beenup in this kind of airship before, and I want to know if it's safe forme."

  The young man leaned over the edge of the padded cockpit, and claspedin his rather grimy hand the neatly gloved one of the young lady. Andthough the glove was new, and fitted the hand perfectly, there was noattempt to withdraw it. Instead, the young lady seemed to be very gladindeed that her hand was in such safe keeping.

  "Mary!" exclaimed the young man, "if it wasn't safe--as safe as achurch--I wouldn't dream of taking you up!" and at the mention of"church" Mary Nestor blushed just the least bit. Or perhaps it was thatthe prospective excitement of the moment caused the blood to surge intoher cheeks. Have it as you will.

  "Come, Mary! you're not going to back out the last minute, are you?"asked Tom Swift. "Everything is all right. I've made a trial flight,and you've seen me come down as safely as a bird. You promised to goup with me. I won't go very high if you don't like it, but myexperience has been that, once you're off the ground, it doesn't makeany difference how high you go. You'll find it very fascinating. Soskip along to the house, and Mrs. Baggert will help you get into yourtogs."

  "Shall I have to wear all those things--such as you have on?" askedMary, blushing again.

  "Well, you'll be more comfortable in a fur-lined leather suit,"asserted Tom. "And if it does make you look like an Eskimo, why I'msure it will be very becoming. Not that you don't look nice now," hehastened to assure Miss Nestor, "but an aviation suit will bevery--well, fetching, I should say."

  "If I could be sure it would 'fetch' me back safe, Tom--"

  "That'll do! That'll do!" laughed the young aviator. "One joke likethat is enough in a morning. It was pretty good, though. Now go on inand tog up."

  "You're sure it's safe, Tom?"

  "Positive! Trot along now. I want to fix a wire and--"

  "Oh, is anything broken?" and the girl, who had started away from theaeroplane, turned back again.

  "No, not broken. It's only a little auxiliary dingus I put on to makeit easier to read the barograph, but I think I'll go back to the oldsystem. Nothing to do with flying at all, except to tell how high upone is."

  "That's just what I don't care to know, Tom," said Mary Nestor, with asmile. "If I could imagine I was sailing along only about ten feet inthe air I wouldn't mind so much."

  "Flying at that height would be the worst sort of danger. You leave itto me, Mary. I won't take you up above the clouds on this sky ride;though, later, I'm sure you'll want to try that. This is only a littleflight. You've been promising long enough to take a trip with me, andnow I believe you're trying to back out."

  "No, really I'm not, Tom! Only, at the last minute, the machine looksso small and frail, and the sky is so--big--"

  She glanced up and seemed to shiver just a trifle.

  "Don't be thinking of those things, Mary!" laughed Tom Swift. "Trotalong and get ready. The motor never worked better, and we may break afew speed records this morning. No traffic cops to stop us, either, asthere might be if we were in an auto."

  "There you go, Mary!" exclaimed Tom, as if struck with a new thought."You've ridden in an auto with me many a time, and you never were a bitafraid, though we were in more danger than we'll be this morning."

  "Danger, Tom, in an auto? How?"

  "Why, danger of a wheel collapsing as we were going full speed; or thesteering knuckle breaking and sending us into a tree; danger of runninginto a stone wall or a ditch; danger of some one running into us, or ofus running into some one else. There isn't one of these dangers on asky ride."

  "No," said Mary slowly. "But there's the danger of falling."

  "One against twenty. That's the safety margin. And, if we do fall, itwill be like landing in a feather bed! There, don't wait any longer. Goand get ready."

  Mary sighed, and then, seeming to summon her nerve to her aid, shesmiled brightly, waved her hand to Tom, and hastened toward his home,where Mrs. Baggert the matronly housekeeper, was waiting to help thegirl attire herself in a flying-suit of leather.

  Mary Nestor, who had a very warm place in the heart of Tom Swift, had,as he stated, some time since promised to take a trip in the air withthe young inventor. But she had kept putting it off, for one reason oranother, until Tom began to despair of ever getting her to accompanyhim. To-day, however, when she had called to inquire about his father,who had been slightly ill, Tom had, after the social visit, insisted onthe promise being kept.

  He had his mechanic get out one of the safest, though a speedy, doublemachine, and, with Mary to watch, Tom had taken a trial flight, just toshow her how easy it was. It was not the first time she had seen himtake to the air, but now she watched with different emotions, for shewas vitally interested.

  Tom had sailed down from aloft, making a landing in the aviation fieldhe had constructed near his home, and then he had insisted that Maryshould keep her promise to take a sky ride with him.

  "Don't be too long now!" called Tom to the girl, as she hurried towardthe house. "Never mind about your hair, or whether your hat's onstraight. You're going to wear a cap, anyhow, and tuck your hair upunder that. It's hot down here, but it will be cold up above; so tellMrs. Baggert to see that you're warmly dressed."

  "All right," and gaily she waved her hand to him. Now that she had madeher decision, and was really going up, she was not half so frightenedas she had been in the contemplation of it.

  As Tom climbed out of the machine, to give it a careful inspection,though he was certain there was nothing wrong, an aged colored manshuffled toward him.

  "Yo'--yo'll be mighty careful ob Miss Nestor now, won't yo', MassaTom?" asked the man.

  "Of course I will, Eradicate," was the young inventor's answer.

  "Case we ain't got many laik her no mo', an' dat's de truf, Massa Tom,"went on the old man. "So be mighty careful laik!"

  "That's what I will, Rad! And, while I'm up in the air, don't you andKoku have any trouble."

  "Ho! Trouble wif dat onery no-'count giant! I guess not!" and thecolored man limped off, highly indignant.

  Satisfied, from an inspection of his machine, that it was as nearlymechanically perfect as it was possible to be, Tom Swift finished histrip around it and stood near the big prop
eller, waiting for MaryNestor to reappear. Presently she did so, and Tom gaily waved his handto her.

  "You're a picture!" he cried, as he saw how particularly "fetching" shelooked in the aviator's costume which was like his own. Because of thedanger of entanglement, Miss Nestor had doffed her skirts, and wore thecostume of all aviators--men and women.

  "I wish I had my camera!" cried Tom. "You look--stunning!"

  "I hope that isn't any comment on how I'm going to feel if we have tomake a--forced landing, I believe you call it," she retorted.

  "Oh, I'll take care of that!" exclaimed Tom. "Now up you go, and we'llstart," and he helped her to climb into the padded seat of the cockpit,behind where he was to sit.

  "Oh, Tom! Don't be in such a hurry!" expostulated Mary. "Let me get mybreath!"

  "No!" laughed the young inventor. "If I did you might back out. Getin, fasten the strap around you and sit still. That's all you have todo. Don't be afraid, I'll be very careful. And don't try to yell at meto go slower or lower once we're up in the air.

  "Why not?" Mary wanted to know, as she settled herself in her seat.

  "Because I can't very well hear you, or talk to you. The motor makes somuch noise, you know. We can do a little talking through this speakingtube," and he indicated one, "but it isn't very satisfactory. So if youhave anything to say--"

  "In the language of the poets," interrupted Mary, "if I have words tospill, prepare to spill them now. Well, I haven't! Now I'm here, goahead! I shall probably be too frightened to talk, anyhow."

  "Oh, no you won't--after the first little sensation," Tom assured her."You'll be crazy about it. Come on, Jackson!" he called to themechanician. "Start the ball rolling!"

  Tom was in his place, his goggles and cap well down over his face, andhe was adjusting the switch as the mechanic prepared to spin thepropellers.

  Suddenly a man came running from the Swift house, waving his arms notunlike the blades of an aircraft propeller, he also shouted, but Tom,whose ears were covered with his fur cap, could not hear. However,Jackson did, and stopped whirling the blades, turning about to see whatwas wanted.

  "Why, it's Mr. Damon!" exclaimed Tom, as he caught sight of the excitedman. "Hello, what's the matter?" the youth asked, pulling aside oneflap of his head-covering so he might hear the answer.

  "Tom! Wait a minute! Bless my mouse trap!" exclaimed Mr. Damon, "I wantto speak to you!" He was panting from his run across the field. "I justgot to your house--saw your father--he said you were going up with MissNestor, but--bless my dog biscuit--"

  "Can't stop now, Mr. Damon!" answered Tom, with a laugh. "I have onlyjust succeeded, by hard work, in getting Mary to a point where she hasconsented to take a sky ride. If I stop now she'll back out and I'llnever get her in again. See you when I come back," and Tom pulled thecovering over his ear once more.

  "But, Tom, bless my shoe laces! This is important!"

  "So's this!" answered Tom, with a grin. He saw, by the motion of Mr.Damon's lips, what the latter had said.

  Around swung the propeller blades. The gasoline vapor in the cylinderswas being compressed.

  "Contact!" called Tom sharply, as he pressed the switch to give theigniting spark at the proper moment. The mechanic had stepped back outof the way, in case there should be a premature starting of thepowerful engine, in which event the blades would have cut him to pieces.

  "Wait, Tom! Wait! This is very important! Bless my collar button, TomSwift, but this is--"

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  With a series of explosions, like those of a machine gun, the motorstarted, and further talk was out of the question. Tom turned on moregas. The propellers became almost invisible blades of light and shadow,and the aeroplane began moving over the grassy field. The mechanic hadsprung out of the way, pulling Mr. Damon with him.

  "Come back! Come back! Wait a minute, Tom Swift! Bless my pansyblossoms, I want to tell you something!" cried the little man.

  But Tom Swift was away and out of hearing. He had started on his skyride with Mary Nestor.