Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera | Page 7

airship was smashed, and fell to
Earthquake Island, where there were some refugees from a shipwreck,

among them being the parents of Mary Nestor. In the volume called
"Tom Swift and His Wireless Message," I told how he saved these
people.
When Tom went among the diamond makers he had more strange
adventures, on that trip discovering the secret of phantom mountain. He
had bad luck when he went to the caves of ice, for there his airship was
wrecked.
When Tom made the trip in his sky racer he broke all records for an
aerial flight, incidentally saving his father's life. It was some time after
this when he invented an electric rifle, and went to elephant land, to
rescue some missionaries from the red pygmies.
The eleventh volume of the series is called "Tom Swift in the Land of
Gold," and relates his adventures underground, while the next one tells
of a new machine he invented--an air-glider-- which he used to save the
exiles of Siberia, incidentally, on that trip, finding a valuable deposit of
platinum.
As I have said, it was on his trip to giant land that Tom got his big
servant. This book, the thirteenth of the series, is called "Tom Swift in
Captivity," for the giants captured him and his friends, and it was only
by means of their airship that they made their daring escape.
Tom had been back from the strange land some time now. One giant he
had turned over to the circus representative for whom he had
undertaken the mission, and the other he retained to work around his
shop, as Eradicate was getting too old. It was now winter, and there had
been quite a fall of snow the day before Mr. Period, the odd moving
picture man, called on Tom. There were many big drifts outside the
building.
Tom had fitted up a well-equipped shop, where he and his father
worked on their inventions. Occasionally Ned Newton, or Mr. Damon,
would come over to help them, but of late Tom had been so busy on his
noiseless motor that he had not had time to even see his friends.

"'Well, I guess the five minutes have passed, and my mind is made up,"
thought Tom, as he looked at his watch. "I might as well tell Mr. Period
that I can't undertake his commission. In the first place it isn't going to
be an easy matter to make an electric moving picture camera. I'd have
to spend a lot of time studying up the subject, and then I might not be
able to get it to work right.
"And, again, I can't spare the time to go to all sorts of wild and
impossible places to get the pictures. It's all well enough to talk about
getting moving pictures of natives in battle, or wild beasts fighting, or
volcanoes in action, but it isn't so easy to do it. Then, too, I'd have to
make some changes in my airship if I went on that trip. No, I can't go.
I'll tell him he'll have to find some one else."
Mr. Period pulled out his watch, opened it quickly, snapped it shut
again, and exclaimed:
"Well, how about it, Tom Swift? When can you start! The sooner the
better for me! You'll want some money for expenses I think. I brought
my check book along, also a fountain pen. I'll give you a thousand
dollars now, for I know making an electric moving picture camera isn't
going to be cheap work. Then, when you get ready to start off in your
airship, you'll need more money. I'll be Johnny-on-the-spot all right,
and have it ready for you. Now when do you think you can start?"
He sat down at a bench, and began filling out a check.
"Hold on!" cried Tom, amused in spite of himself. "Don't sign that
check, Mr. Period. I'm not going."
"Not going?" The man's face showed blank amazement.
"No," went on Tom. "I can't spare the time. I'm sorry, but you'll have to
get some one else."
"Some one else? But who can I get?"
"Why, there are plenty who would be glad of the chance."

"But they can't invent an electric moving picture camera, and, if they
could, they wouldn't know enough to take pictures with it. It's got to be
you or no one, Tom Swift. Look here, I'll make it fifteen thousand
dollars above expenses."
"No, I'm sorry, but I can't go. My work here keeps me too busy.
"Oh, pshaw! Now, look here, Tom Swift! Do you know who sent me to
see you?"
"It was Mr. Nestor, who has a daughter named Mary, I believe. Mr.
Nestor is one of the directors in our company, and one day, when he
told