Tom Swift and His Great Searchlight | Page 4

giant
continued to delve for more. One of the papers, rolled in a wrapper,
stuck on the edge of the pocket.
"You must outcome!" exclaimed Koku, giving it a sudden yank, and it
"outcame" with such suddenness that the paper was torn in half, tightly
wrapped as it was, and it was considerable of a bundle.
"Koku, you're getting too strong!" exclaimed Tom, as scraps of paper
were scattered about the room. "I think I'll give you less to eat."
"I am your forgiveness," said Koku humbly, as he stooped over to pick

up the fragments. "I did not mean."
"It's all right," said Tom kindly. "That's only a big bundle of Sunday
papers I guess."
"I'll give him a hand," volunteered Ned, stooping over to help Koku
clear the rug of the litter. As he did so Tom's chum gave a gasp of
surprise.
"Hello, Tom!" Ned cried. "Here's something new, and I guess it will
interest you."
"What is it?"
"It's part of an account of some daring smugglers who are working
goods across the Canadian border into the northern part of this state.
The piece is torn, but there's something here which says the
government agents suspect the men of using airships to transport the
stuff."
"Airships! Smugglers using airships!" cried Tom. "It doesn't seem
possible!"
"That's what it says here, Tom. It says the custom house authorities
have tried every way to catch them, and when they couldn't land 'em,
the only theory they could account for the way the smuggling was
going on was by airships, flying at night."
"That's odd. I wonder how it would seem to chase a smuggler in an
airship at night? Some excitement about that; eh, Ned? Let's see that
scrap of paper."
Ned passed it over, and Tom scanned it closely. Then in his turn, he
uttered an exclamation of surprise.
"What is it?" inquired his chum.
"Great Scott, Ned, listen to this! 'It is suspected that some of the
smugglers have'--then there's a place where the paper is torn-'in

Shopton, N.Y.'" finished Tom. "Think of that, Ned. Our town here, is in
some way connected with the airship smugglers! We must find the rest
of this scrap of paper, and paste it together. This may be a big thing!
Find that other scrap! Koku, you go easy on papers next time,"
cautioned Tom, good naturedly, as he and his chum began sorting over
the torn parts of the paper.
CHAPTER II
A SPY IN TOWN
Tom Swift, Ned Newton and Koku, the giant, are busy trying to piece
together the torn parts of the paper, containing an account of the airship
smugglers. I will take the opportunity of telling you something about
the young inventor and his work, for, though many of my readers have
made Tom's acquaintances in previous books of this series, there may
be some who pick up this one as their first volume.
Tom lived with his father, also an inventor of note, in the town of
Shopton, New York state. His mother was dead, and a Mrs. Baggert
kept house. Eradicate was an eccentric, colored helper, but of late had
become too old to do much. Mr. Swift was also quite aged, and had
been obliged to give up most of his inventive work.
Ned Newton was Tom Swift's particular chum, and our hero had
another friend, a Mr. Wakefield Damon, of the neighboring town of
Waterford. Mr. Damon had the odd habit of blessing everything he saw
or could think of. Another of Tom's friends was Miss Mary Nestor,
whom I have mentioned, while my old readers will readily recognize in
Andy Foger a mean bully, who made much trouble for Tom.
The first book of the series was called "Tom Swift and His
Motor-Cycle," and on that machine Tom had many advances on the
road, and not a little fun. After that Tom secured a motor boat, and had
a race with Andy Foger. In his airship our hero made a stirring cruise,
while in his submarine boat he and his father recovered a sunken
treasure.

When Tom Swift invented a new electric run-about he did not realize
that it was to be the speediest car on the road, but so it proved, and he
was able to save the bank with it. In the book called "Tom Swift and
His Wireless Message," I told you how he saved the castaways of
Earthquake Island, among whom were Mr. and Mrs. Nestor, the parents
of Mary.
Tom Swift had not been long on the trail of the diamond makers before
he discovered the secret of Phantom Mountain, and after that adventure
he went to the caves of ice, where his big airship was wrecked. But he
got home, and soon made another, which he called