Tom Swift and His Giant Cannon | Page 7

his father, perfected many
wonderful inventions. The lad lived with his aged parent, his mother
being dead, in the village of Shopton, in New York State.
While the house, which was presided over by the motherly Mrs.

Baggert, was large, it was almost lost now amid the many buildings
surrounding it, from balloon and airship hangars, to shops where varied
work was carried on. For Tom did most of his labor himself, of course
with men to help him at the heavier tasks. Occasionally he had to call
on outside shops.
In the household, beside his father, himself and Mrs. Baggert, was
Eradicate Sampson, an aged colored man-of-all-work, who said he was
called "Eradicate" because he eradicated dirt. There was also Koku, a
veritable giant, one of two brothers whom Tom had brought with him
from Giant Land, when he escaped from captivity there, as related in
the book of that name.
Mr. Damon was, with Ned Newton, Tom's chum, the warmest friend of
the family, and was often at Tom's home, coming from the neighboring
town of Waterford, where he lived.
Tom had been back some time now from working for the government
in detecting the smugglers, but, as you may well suppose, he had not
been idle. Inventing a number of small things, including useful articles
for the house, was a sort of recreation for him, but his mind was busy
on one great scheme, which I will tell you about in due time.
Among other things he had just perfected a new style of magneto for
one of his airships. The magneto, as you know, is a sort of small
dynamo, that supplies the necessary spark to the cylinder, to explode
the mixture of air and gasoline vapor. He was trying out this magneto
in the Humming Bird when the accident I have related in the first
chapter occurred.
"There! He's coming to!" exclaimed Mrs. Baggert, as she leaned over
Tom, who was stretched out on the sofa in the library. "Give him
another smell of this ammonia," she went on, handing the bottle to Mr.
Swift.
"No--no," faintly murmured Tom, opening his eyes. "I--I've had enough
of that, if you please! I'm all right."

"Are you sure, Tom?" asked his father. "Aren't you hurt anywhere?"
"Not a bit, Dad! It was foolish of me to go off that way; but I couldn't
seem to help it. It all got black in front of me, and-- well, I just keeled
over."
"I should say you did," spoke Mr. Peterson.
"An' ef he hadn't a-been there to cotch yo' all," put in Eradicate, "yo' all
suah would hab hit de ground mighty hard."
"That's two services he did for me today," said Tom, as he managed to
sit up. "Cutting that wire--well, it saved my life, that's certain."
"I believe you, Tom," said Mr. Swift, solemnly, and he held out his
hand to his old mining partner.
"Do you need the doctor?" asked Mr. Damon, who was at the telephone.
"He says he'll come right over--I can get him in Tom's electric runabout,
if you say so. He's on the wire now."
"No, I don't need him," replied the young inventor. "Thank him just the
same. It was only an ordinary faint, caused by the slight electrical
shocks, and by getting a bit nervous, I guess. I'm all right--see," and he
proved it by standing up.
"He's ail right--don't come, doctor," said Mr. Damon into the telephone.
"Bless my keyring!" he exclaimed, "but that was a strenuous time!"
"I've been in some tight places before," went on Tom, as he sat down in
an easy chair, "and I've had any number of shocks when I've been
experimenting, but this was a sort of double combination, and it sure
had me guessing. But I'm feeling better every minute."
"A cup of hot tea will do you good," said motherly Mrs. Baggert, as she
bustled out of the room. "I'll make it for you."
"You cut that wire as neatly as any lineman could," went on Tom,
glancing from Mr. Peterson out of the window to where one of his

workmen was repairing the break. "When I flew over it in my airship I
never gave a thought to the trailer from my wireless outfit. The first I
knew I was caught back, and then pulled down to the balloon shed roof,
for I tilted the deflecting rudder by mistake.
"But, Mr. Peterson," Tom went on, "I haven't seen you in some time.
Anything new on, that brings you here?" for the fortune- hunter had
called at the Swift house after Tom had gone out to the shop to get his
airship ready for the flight to try the magneto.
"Well, Tom, I have something rather new on," replied Mr. Peterson. "I
hoped