Tom Swift and His Wireless Message | Page 5

craft of the air form the basis for the third book
of the series, entitled "Tom Swift and His Airship." In the RED
CLOUD, Tom and his friends, including Mr. Damon, started to make a
record flight. They left Shopton the night when the bank vault was
blown open, and seventy-five thousand dollars stolen.
Because of evidence given by Andy Foger, and his father, suspicion
pointed to Tom and his friends as the robbers, and they were pursued.
But they turned the tables by capturing the real burglars, and defeating
the mean plans of the Fogers.
Not satisfied with having mastered the air Tom and his father turned
their attention to the water. Mr. Swift perfected a new type of craft, and
in the fourth book of the series, called "Tom Swift and His Submarine,"
you may read how he went after a sunken treasure. The party had many
adventures, and were in no little danger from their enemies before they
reached the wreck with its store of gold.
The fifth book of the series, named "Tom Swift and His Electrical
Runabout," told how Tom built the speediest car on the road, and won a
prize with it, and also saved a bank from ruin.
Tom had to struggle against odds, not only in his inventive work, but
because of the meanness of jealous enemies, including Andy Foger,
who seemed to bear our hero a grudge of long standing. Even though
Tom had, more than once, thrashed Andy well, the bully was always
seeking a chance to play some mean trick on the young inventor.
Sometimes he succeeded, but more often the tables were effectually
turned.

It was now some time since Tom had won the prize in his electric car
and, in the meanwhile he had built himself a smaller airship, or, rather,
monoplane, named the BUTTERFLY. In it he made several successful
trips about the country, and gave exhibitions at numerous aviation
meets; once winning a valuable prize for an altitude flight. In one trip
he had met with a slight accident, and the monoplane had only just
been repaired after this when he received the message summoning him
to Philadelphia.
"Well, Tom," remarked his father that afternoon, "if you are going to
the Quaker City, to see Mr. Fenwick to-morrow, you'd, better be
getting ready. Have you wired him that you will come?"
"No, I haven't, dad," was the reply. "I'll get a message ready at once,
and when Eradicate comes back I'll have him take it to the telegraph
office."
"I wouldn't do that, Tom."
"Do what?"
"Trust it to Eradicate. He means all right, but there's no telling when
that mule of his may lie down in the road, and go to sleep. Then your
message won't get off, and Mr. Fenwick may be anxiously waiting for
it. I wouldn't like to offend him, for, though he and I have not met in
some years, yet I would be glad if you could do him a favor. Why not
take the message yourself?"
"Guess I will, dad. I'll run over to Mansburg in my electric car, and
send the message from there. It will go quicker, and, besides, I want to
get some piano wire to strengthen the wings of my monoplane."
"All right, Tom, and when you telegraph to Mr. Fenwick, give him my
regards, and say that I hope his airship will be a success. So it's an
electric one, eh? I wonder how it works? But you can tell me when you
come back."
"I will, dad. Mr. Jackson, will you help me charge the batteries of my

car? I think they need replenishing. Then I'll get right along to
Mansburg."
Mansburg was a good-sized city some miles from the village of
Shopton, and Tom and his father had frequent business there.
The young inventor and the engineer soon had the electric car in
readiness for a swift run, for the charging of the batteries could be done
in much less than the time usual for such an operation, owing to a new
system perfected by Tom. The latter was soon speeding along the road,
wondering what sort of an airship Mr. Fenwick would prove to have,
and whether or not it could be made to fly.
"It's easy enough to build an airship," mused Tom, "but the difficulty is
to get them off the ground, and keep them there." He knew, for there
had been several failures with his monoplane before it rose like a bird
and sailed over the tree-tops.
The lad was just entering the town, and had turned around a corner,
twisting about to pass a milk wagon, when he suddenly saw, darting out
directly in the path of his car, a young lady.
"Look out!" yelled Tom, ringing his