Tom Swift and His Aerial Warship | Page 7

cried. "We mustn't let that get the best of us!
Everybody at work! Father, not you, though. You mustn't excite
yourself!"
Even in the midst of the alarm Tom thought of his father, for the aged
man had a weak heart, and had on one occasion nearly expired, being
saved just in time by the arrival of a doctor, whom Tom brought to the
scene after a wonderful race through the air.
"But, Tom, I can help," objected the aged inventor.
"Now, you just take care of yourself, Father!" Tom cried. "There are
enough of us to look after this fire, I think."
"But, Tom, it--it's the red shed!" gasped Mr. Swift.

"I realize that, Dad. But it can't have much of a start yet. Is the alarm
ringing, Koku?"
"Yes, Master," replied the giant, in correct but stilted English. "I have
set the indicator to signal the alarm in every shop on the premises."
"That's right." Tom sprang toward the door. "Eradicate!" he called.
"Yais, sah! Heah I is!" answered the colored man. "I'll go git mah mule,
Boomerang, right away, an' he--"
"Don't you bring Boomerang on the scene!" Tom yelled. "When I want
that shed kicked apart I can do it better than by using a mule's heels.
And you know you can't do a thing with Boomerang when he sees
fire."
"Now dat's so, Massa Tom. But I could put blinkers on him, an'--"
"No, you let Boomerang stay where he is. Come on, Ned. We'll see
what we can do. Mr. Damon--"
"Yes, Tom, I'm right here," answered the peculiar man, for he had
come over from his home in Waterford to pay a visit to his friends,
Tom and Mr. Swift. "I'll do anything I can to help you, Tom, bless my
necktie!" he went on. "Only say the word!"
"We've got to get some of the stuff out of the place!" Tom cried. "We
may be able to save it, but I can't take a chance on putting out the fire
and letting some of the things in there go up in smoke. Come on!"
Those in the shed where was housed what Tom hoped would prove to
be a successful aerial warship rushed to the open. From the other shops
and buildings nearby were pouring men and boys, for the Swift plant
employed a number of hands now.
Above the shouts and yells, above the crackle of flames, could be heard
the clanging of the alarm bell, set ringing by Koku, who had pulled the
signal in the airship shed. From there it had gone to every building in

the plant, being relayed by the telephone operator, whose duty it was to
look after that.
"My, you've got a big enough fire-fighting force, Tom!" cried Ned in
his chum's ear.
"Yes, I guess we can master it, if it hasn't gotten the best of us. Say, it's
going some, though!"
Tom pointed to where a shed, painted red--a sign of danger-- could be
seen partly enveloped in smoke, amid the black clouds of which shot
out red tongues of flame.
"What have you got it painted red for?" Ned asked pantingly, as they
ran on.
"Because--" Tom began, but the rest of the sentence was lost in a yell.
Tom had caught sight of Eradicate and the giant, Koku, unreeling from
a central standpipe a long line of hose.
"Don't take that!" Tom cried. "Don't use that hose! Drop it!"
"What's the matter? Is it rotten?" Ned wanted to know.
"No, but if they pull it out the water will be turned on automatically."
"Well, isn't that what you want at a fire--water?" Ned demanded.
"Not at this fire," was Tom's answer. "There's a lot of calcium carbide
in that red shed--that's why it's red--to warn the men of danger. You
know what happens when water gets on carbide--there's an explosion,
and there's enough carbide in that shed to send the whole works sky
high.
"Drop that hose!" yelled Tom in louder tones. "Drop it, Rad-- Koku!
Do you want to kill us all!"
CHAPTER III

A DESPERATE BATTLE
Tom's tones and voice were so insistent that the giant and the colored
man had no choice but to obey. They dropped the hose which, half
unreeled, lay like some twisted snake in the grass. Had it been pulled
out all the way the water would have spurted from the nozzle, for it was
of the automatic variety, with which Tom had equipped all his plant.
"But what are you going to do, Tom, if you don't use water?" asked
Ned, wonderingly.
"I don't know--yet, but I know water is the worst thing you can put on
carbide," returned Tom. For all he spoke Slowly his brain was working
fast. Already, even now, he was planning