 Chapter 22 of Tom Swift and His Aerial Worship This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Scott Sherris. Tom Swift and His Aerial Worship by Victor Appleton Chapter 22 Apprehensions For a moment or two, after the ropes binding his hands were loosed, Tom Swift did nothing. He was not only stunned mentally, but the bonds had been pulled so tightly about his wrists that the circulation was impeded and his cramped muscles required a little time in which to respond. But presently he felt the tingle of the coursing blood and he felt he could move his arms. He raised them to his head, and then his first care was to remove the pad of cloth that formed a gag over his mouth. Now he could talk. I'll loosen you all in just a second, he said, as he bent over to pick at a knot of rope around his legs. His own voice sounded strange to him. I don't know what it's all about, any more than you do, he went on speaking to the others. It's a fierce game we're up against, and we've got to make the best of it. As soon as we can move and talk, we'll decide what's best to do. Whatever these fellows are, and I believe they are the foreign spies I've been warned about, they are in complete possession of the airship. Tom found it no easy matter to loosen the bonds on his feet. The ropes were well tied, and Tom's fingers were stiff from the lack of circulation of blood. But finally he managed to free himself. When he stood up in the dim store room, that was now a prison for all safe cokoo. He found that he could not walk. He almost toppled over, so weak were his legs from the tightness of the ropes. He sat down and worked his muscles until they felt normal again. A few minutes later, weak and rather tottery, he managed to reach Mr. Damon, whom he first unbound. He realized that Mr. Damon was the oldest of his friends and consequently would suffer most. And it was characteristic of the eccentric gentleman that, as soon as his gag was removed, he burst out with, �Bless my wristlets, Tom! What does it all mean? That's more than I can say, Mr. Damon,� replied Tom with a mournful shake of his head. �I'm very sorry it happened, for it looks as though I hadn't taken proper care. The idea of those men stowing themselves away on board here and me not knowing it, and then coming out unexpectedly and getting possession of the craft, it doesn't speak very well for my smartness. �Oh well, Tom, anyone might have been fooled by these plodding foreigners,� said Mr. Damon. �Now we'll try to turn matters about and get the best of them. Oh, but it feels good to be free once more.� He stretched his benumbed and stiffened limbs and then helped Tom free the others. They stood up, looking at each other in their dimly-lighted prison. �Well, if this isn't the limit, I don't know what is!� cried Ned Newton. �They got the best of you, Tom,� spoke Lieutenant Marbury. �Are they really foreign spies?� asked Captain Warner. �Yes,� replied his assistant. �They managed to carry out the plot we tried to frustrate. It was a good trick, too, hiding on board and coming out with a rush. �Is that what they did?� asked Mr. Damon. �It looks so,� observed Tom. �The attack must have started in the engine room,� he went on, with a look at Mount Inventor. �What happened there?� he asked. �Well, that's about the way it was,� answered the engineer. �We were working away, making some adjustments, oil in the parts, and seeing that everything was running smoothly, when all at once I heard Koku yell. He had gone in the oil room. At first I thought something had gone wrong with the ship, but when I looked at the giant, I saw he was being attacked by four strange men, and before I or any of the other men could do anything, they all swarmed down on us. �There must have been a dozen of them, and they simply overwhelmed us. One of them hit Koku on the head with an iron bar, and that took all the fight out of the giant, or this story might have been a different one. As it was, we were overpowered, and that's all I know until we were carried in here and saw you folks all tied up as we were. �They burst in on us in the same way,� Tom explained. �But where did they come from? Where were they hiding? �In the oil and gas storeroom that opens out of the motor compartment,� answered Mount, the engineer. �It isn't half full, you know, and there's room for more than a dozen men in it. They must have gone in some time last night when the airship was in the hangar and remained hidden among the boxes and barrels until they got ready to come out and overpower us. �That's it,� decided Tom, �but I don't understand how they got in. The hangar was well guarded all night. �Some of your men might have been bribed,� suggested Ned. �Yes, that is so,� admitted Tom, and later he learned that such had been the case. The foreign spies, for as such they were, had managed to corrupt one of Tom's trusted employees, who had looked the other way when Lafoye and his fellow conspirators sneaked into the airship shed and secreted themselves. �Well, discussing how they got on board isn't going to do us any good now,� Tom remarked ruefully. �The question is, what are we going to do? �Bless my fountain pen,� cried Mr. Damon. �There's only one thing to do! �What is that?� asked Ned. �Why, get out of here, call a policeman and have these scoundrels arrested. I'll prosecute them. I'll have my lawyer on hand to see that they get the longest terms the statutes call for. Bless my pocketbook, but I will.� And Mr. Damon waxed, quite indignant. �That's easier said than done,� observed Tom swift quietly. In the first place, it isn't going to be an easy matter to get out of here. He looked around the storeroom, which was then in their prison. It was illuminated by a single electric light which showed some boxes and barrels piled in the rear. �Nothing in them to help us get out,� Tom went on, for he knew what the contents were. �Oh, we'll get out,� declared Ned confidently. �But I don't believe we'll find a policeman ready to take our complaint. The upper air isn't very well patrolled as yet. �That's so,� agreed Mr. Damon. �I forgot we were in an airship. But what is to be done, Tom? We really are capped as aboard our own craft.� �Yes, worse luck,� returned the young inventor. �I feel foolish when I think how we let them take us prisoners.� �We couldn't help it,� Ned commented. �They came on to us too suddenly. We didn't have a chance. And they outnumbered us two to one. If they could take care of being Koku, what chance did we have? �Very little,� said Engineer Mound. �They were two desperate fellows. They knew something about aircraft, too. For as soon as Koku, Venter, and I were disposed of, some of them went at the machinery as if they had been used to running at all their lives. �Oh, the foreigners are experts when it comes to craft of the air,� said Captain Warner. �Well, they seem to be running her all right,� admitted the young inventor, �and at good speed, too. They have increased our running rate, if I'm any judge. �By several miles an hour,� confirmed the assistant pilot, �though in which direction they're heading and what they're going to do with us is more than I can guess.� �That's so,� agreed Mr. Damon. �What is to become of us? They may heave us overboard into the ocean.� �Into the ocean?� cried Ned apprehensively. �Are we near the sea? We must be by this time,� spoke Tom. �We were headed in that direction, and we have come almost far enough to put us somewhere over the Atlantic, off the Jersey coast. A look of apprehension was on the faces of all, but Tom's face did not remain clouded long. �We won't try to swim unless we have to,� he said. �Now let's take an account of stock and see if we have any means of getting out of this prison.� End of Chapter 22 Recording by Scott Sherris, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Chapter 23 of Tom Swift and His Aerial Worship This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Scott Sherris Tom Swift and His Aerial Worship by Victor Appleton Chapter 23 Across the Sea With one accord, the hands of the captives sought their pockets. Probably the first thought of each was the knife, a pocket knife, but blank looks succeeded their first hopeful ones, for the hands came out empty. �Not a thing!� exclaimed Mr. Damon. �Not a blessed thing! They have even taken my keys and my fountain pen! �I guess they searched us all while they were struggling with us, tying us up,� suggested Ned. �I had a knife with a big, strong blade, but it's gone. �So is mine,� echoed Tom. �And I haven't even a screwdriver or a pocket wrench,� declared the engineer. �Though I had both.� �They evidently knew what they were doing,� said Lieutenant Marbury. �I don't usually carry a revolver, but of late I have had a small automatic in my pocket. That's gone, too.� �And so are all my things,� went on his naval friend. �That Frenchman, La Foy, was taking no chances. �Well, if we haven't any weapons or means of getting out of here, we must make them,� said Tom, as hopefully as he could, under the circumstances. �I don't know all the things that were put in this storeroom, and perhaps there may be something we can use. �Shall we make the try now?� asked Ned. �I'm getting thirsty, at least. Lucky we had supper before they came out at us. �Well, there isn't any water in here or anything to eat, so of much I am sure,� went on Tom. �So we will have to depend on our captors for that.� �At least we can shout and ask for water,� said Lieutenant Marbury. �They have no excuse for being needlessly cruel. �They all agreed that this might not be a bad plan, and were preparing to raise a united shout when there came a knock on the door of their prison. �Are you willing to listen to reason?� asked a voice they recognized as that of La Foy. �What do you mean by reason?� asked Tom bitterly. �You have no right to impose any conditions on us.� �I have the right of might, and I intend exercising it,� was the sharp rejoinder. �If you will listen to reason, which kind? Yours are ours,� asked Tom pointedly. �Mine, in this case,� snapped back the Frenchman. �What I was going to say was that I do not intend to starve you or cause you discomfort by thirst. I am going to open the door and put in food and water, but I warn you that any attempt to escape would be met with severe measures. �We are in sufficient force to cope with you. I think you have seen that.� He spoke calmly and in perfect English, though with a marked accent. �My men are armed and will stand here ready to meet violence with violence,� he went on. �Is that understood?� For a moment, none of the captors replied. �I think it will be better to give in to him, at least for a while,� said Captain Warner in a low voice to Tom. �We need water and will soon need food. We can think and plan better if we are well nourished.� �Then you think I should promise not to raise a row? For the time being, yes. �Well, I am waiting,� came in sharp tones from the other side of the portal. �Our answer is yes,� spoke Tom. �We will not try to get out just yet,� he added significantly. A key was heard grating in the lock, and a moment later the door slid back. Through the opening could be seen Lafoy and some of his men standing armed. Others had packages of food and jugs of water, and plentiful supply of the ladder was carried aboard the Mars. �Keep back from the door,� was the stern command of Lafoy. �The food and drink will be passed in only if you keep away from the entrance. Remember, my men are armed.� The warning was hardly needed, for the weapons could plainly be seen. Tom had half a notion that perhaps a concerted rush would carry the day for him and his friends, but he was forced to abandon that idea. While the guards looked on, others of the pirate crew, as Ned dubbed them, passed in food and water. Then the door was locked again. They all felt better after drinking the water, which was made cool by evaporation, for the airship was quite high above the earth when Tom's enemies captured it, and the young inventor felt sure he had not descended any. No one felt much like eating, however, so the food was put away for a time, and then, somewhat refreshed, they began looking about for some means of getting out of their prison. �Of course we might batter down the door in time by using some of these boxes as rams,� said Tom, �but the trouble is that would make a noise and they could stand outside and drive us back with guns and pistols, of which they seemed to have plenty. �Yes, and they could turn some of your own quick fires on us,� added Captain Warner. �No, we must work quietly, I think, and take them unawares as they took us. That is our only plan.� �We will be better able to see what we have here by daylight,� Tom said. �Suppose we wait until morning?� That plan was deemed best, and preparations made for spending the night in their prison. It was a most uncomfortable night for all of them. The floor was their only bed, and they were only covering some empty bags that had contained supplies, but even under these circumstances they managed to doze off fitfully. Once they were all awakened by a violent plunging of the airship, the craft seemed to be trying to stand on her head, and then she rocked violently from side to side, nearly turning turtle. �What is it?� gasped Ned, who was lying next to Tom. �They must be trying some violent stunts,� replied the young inventor, �or else we have run into a storm.� �I think the latter is the case,� observed Lieutenant Marbury. And as the motion of the craft kept up, though less violently, this was accepted as the explanation. Through the night the Mars flew, but wither the captives knew not. The first gray streaks of dawn finally shone through the only window of their prison. Sore, lame, and stiff, wearied in body and disturbed in mind, the captives awoke. Tom's first move was toward the window. It was high up, but by standing on a box he could look through it. He uttered an exclamation. �What is it?� asked Ned, swaying to and fro from the violent motion of the aerial worship. �We are away out over the sea,� spoke Tom, �and in the midst of a bad storm.� End of Chapter 23 Recording by Scott Sherris, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Chapter 24 of Tom Swift and His Aerial Worship This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Scott Sherris Tom Swift and His Aerial Worship by Victor Appleton Chapter 24 The Lightning Bolt Tom turned away from the window to find his companions regarding him anxiously. �A storm,� repeated Ned. �What sort?� �It might turn into any sort,� replied Tom. �All I can see now is a lot of black clouds, and the wind must be blowing pretty hard for there's quite a sea on.� �Bless my galvanometer,� cried Mr. Damon. �Then we are out over the ocean again, Tom.� �Yes, there's no doubt of it. � �What part?� asked the assistant pilot. �That's more than I can tell,� Tom answered. �Suppose I take a look,� suggested Captain Warner. �I have done quite a bit of sailing in my time.� �But when he had taken a look through the window at which Tom had been standing, the naval officer descended, shaking his head. �There isn't a land,� marked in sight, he announced. �We might be over the middle of the Atlantic for all I could tell.� �Hardly as far as that,� spoke Tom. �They haven't been pushing the Mars at that speed, but we may be across to the other side before we realize it.� �How's that?� asked Ned. �Well, the ship is in the possession of these foreign spies,� went on Tom. �All their interests are in Europe, though it would be hard to say what nationality is in command here. �I think there are even some Englishmen among those who attacked us, as well as French, Germans, Italians, and Russians.� �Yes, it seems to be a combination of European nations against us,� admitted Captain Warner. �Probably after they have made good their seizure of Tom's aerial warship, they will portion her out among themselves, or use her as a model from which to make others.� �Do you think that is their object?� asked Mr. Damon. �Undoubtedly,� was the Captain's answer. �It has been the object of these foreign spies all along, not only to prevent the United States from enjoying the benefits of these progressive inventions, but to use them for themselves. They would stop at nothing to gain their ends. It seems we did not sufficiently appreciate their power and daring.� �Well, they've got us at any rate,� observed Tom, �and they may take us and the ship to some far off foreign country.� �If they don't heal us overboard halfway there,� commented Ned in rather gloomy tones. �Well, of course there's that possibility,� admitted Tom. �They are desperate characters.� �Well, we must do something,� declared Lieutenant Marbury. �Come, it's daylight now, and we can see to work better. Let's see if we can't find a way to get out of this prison.� �Say, but this sure is a storm,� he cried as the airship rolled and pitched violently. �They are handling her well, though,� observed Tom, �as the craft came quickly to an even keel. Either they have a number of expert birdmen on board, or they can easily adapt themselves to a new aircraft, she is sailing splendidly.� �Well, let's eat something and set to work,� proposed Ned. �They brought out the food which had been given them the night before, but before they could eat this there came a knock on the door and more food and fresh water was handed in, under the same precautions as before.� �Tom and his companions indignantly demanded to be released, but their protests were only laughed at and while the guards stood with ready weapons the door was again shut and locked. But the prisoners were not the kind to sit idly down in the face of this. Under Tom's direction they set about looking through their place of captivity for something by which they could release themselves. At first they found nothing, and Ned even suggested trying to cut away through the wooden walls with a fingernail file which he had found in one of his pockets when Tom, who had gone to the far end of the storeroom, uttered a cry. �What is it, a way out?� asked Lieutenant Marbury anxiously. �No but means to that end� Tom replied. �Look, a file and a saw left here by some of my workmen perhaps.� And he brought out the tools. He had found them behind a barrel in the far end of the compartment. �Hooray!� cried Ned. �That�s the ticket. Now we�ll soon show these fellows what�s what. �Go easy� cautioned Tom. �We must work carefully. It won�t do to slam around and try to break down the door with these. �I think we�d better select a place on the side wall, break through that, and make an opening where we can come out unnoticed. Then, when we are ready, we can take them by surprise. We�ll have to do something like that for they outnumber us, you know.� �That is so� agreed Captain Warner. �We must use strategy. �Well, where would be a good place to begin to burrow out?� asked Ned. �Here� said Tom, indicating a place far back in the room. �We can work there in turns, sawing a hole through the wall. It will bring us out in the passage between the aft and a mid-chip cabins and we can go either way. �Then let�s begin� cried Ned enthusiastically, and they set to work. While the aerial warship pitched and tossed in the storm, over some part of the Atlantic, Tom and his friends took turns in working their way to freedom. With a sharp end of the file, a small hole was made, the work being done as slowly as a rat-nause, so as to make no noise that would be heard by their captors. In time, the hole was large enough to admit the end of the saw. But this took many hours, and it was not until the second day of their captivity that they had the hole nearly large enough for the passage of one person at a time. They had not been discovered, they thought. Meanwhile, they had been given food and water at intervals, but to all demands that they be released, or at least told why they were held prisoners, a deaf ear was turned. They could only guess at the fate of Koku. Probably the giant was kept bound, for once he got the chance to use his enormous strength, it might go hard with the foreigners. The Mars continued to fly through the air, sometimes as Tom and his friends could tell by the motion, she was almost stationary in the upper regions, and again she seemed to be flying at top speed. Occasionally there came the sound of firing. �They�re trying my guns�, observed Tom grimly. �Do you suppose they�re being attacked?� asked Ned hopefully. �Hardly� replied Captain Warner. �The United States possesses no craft able to cope with this one in aerial warfare, and they are hardly engaging in part of the European war yet. I think they are just trying Tom�s new guns.� Later our friends learned that such was the case. The storm had either passed or the Mars had run out of the path of it, after the first few hours of pitching and tossing, the atmosphere seemed reduced to a state of calm. All the while they were secretly working to gain their freedom so they might attack and overpower their enemies, they took occasional observations from the small window, but they could learn nothing of their whereabouts. They could only view the heaving ocean far below them, or see a massive cloud mist which hid the earth, if so be that that the Mars was sailing over land. �But how much longer can they keep it up?� asked Ned. �Well, we have fuel and supplies aboard for nearly two weeks� Tom answered. �And by the end of that time we may all be dead� spoke the young bank clerk despondently. �No, we�ll be out of here before then� declared Lieutenant Marbury. Indeed the hole was now almost large enough to enable them to crawl out one at a time. They could not, of course, see how it looked from the outside, but Tom had selected a place for its cutting so that the sawdust and the mark of the panel that was being removed would not ordinarily be noticeable. They set night as the time for making the attempt, late at night when it was hoped that most of their captors would be asleep. Finally the last cut was made, and a piece of wood hung over the opening only by a shred, all ready to knock out. �We�ll do it at midnight� announced Tom. Anxious indeed were those last hours of waiting. The time had almost arrived for the attempt, when Tom, who had been nervously pacing to and fro, remarked, �We must be running into another storm. Feel how she heaves and rolls.� Indeed the Mars was most unsteady. �It sure is a storm� cried Ned, �and a heavy one, too,� for there came a burst of thunder that seemed like a report of Tom�s giant cannon. In another instant they were in the midst of a violent thunderstorm, the airship pitching and tossing in a manner to almost throw them from their feet. As Tom reached up to switch on the electric light again, there came a flash of lightning that well-nigh blinded them, and so close after it as to seem simultaneous, there came such a crash of thunder as to stun them all. There was a tingling as of a thousand pins and needles in the body of each of the captives, and a strong smell of sulfur. Then as the echoes of the claptide away, Tom yelled, �She�s been struck! The airship has been struck!� End of Chapter 24, Recording by Scott Sherris, Atlanta, Georgia, USA Chapter 25 of Tom Swift and His Aerial Worship This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Scott Sherris, Tom Swift and His Aerial Worship by Victor Appleton Chapter 25 Freedom For a moment there was silence, following Tom�s wild cry in the noise of the thunderclap. Then, as other, though less loud reverberations of the storm continued to sound, the captives awoke to a realization of what had happened. They had been partially stunned and were almost as in a dream. �Are we all right?� stammered Ned. �Bless my soul, what has happened?� cried Mr. Damon. �We�ve been struck by lightning,� Tom repeated. �I don�t know whether we�re all right or not. �We seem to be falling!� exclaimed Lieutenant Marbury. �If the whole gas bag isn�t ripped to pieces, we�re lucky,� commented Jerry Mound. Indeed, it was evident that the Mars was sinking rapidly. To all, there came the sensation of riding in an elevator in a skyscraper and being dropped a score of stories. Then, as they stood there in the darkness, illuminated only by flashes from the lightning outside the window, waiting for an unknown fate, Tom Swift uttered a cry of delight. �We�ve stopped falling,� he cried. �The automatic gas machine is pumping! Part of the gas bag was punctured, but the unbroken compartments hold. �If part of the gas leaked out, I don�t see why it wasn�t all set on fire and exploded,� observed Captain Warner. �It�s a non-burnable gas,� Tom quickly explained. �But come on, this may be our very chance. There seems to be something going on that may be in our favor.� Indeed, the captives could hear confused cries and their running to and fro of many feet. He made for the sod panel and, in another instant, had burst out and was threw it out into the passageway between the after and the midship cabins. His companions followed him. They looked into the rear cabin or motor compartment and a scene of confusion met their gaze. Two of the foreign men who had seized the ship lay stretched out on the floor near the humming machinery, which had been left to run itself. A look in the other direction toward the main cabin showed a group of the foreign spies bending over the inert body of Lafoy, the Frenchman, stretched out on a couch. �What has happened?� cried Ned. �What does it all mean? �The lightning!� exclaimed Tom. �The bolt that struck the ship has knocked out some of our enemies. Now is the time to attack them.� The Mars seemed to have passed completely through a narrow storm belt. She was now in a quiet atmosphere, though behind her could be seen the fitful play of lightning and there could be heard the distant rumble of thunder. �Come on!� cried Tom. �We must act quickly while they are demoralized. �Come on!� His friends needed no further urging. Jerry Mound and the machinist rushed to the engine room to look after any of the enemy that might be there, while Tom, Ned, and the others ran into the middle cabin. �Grab them! Tie them up!� cried Tom, for they had no weapons with which to make an attack. But none were needed. So stunned were the foreigners by the lightning bolt, which had miraculously passed our friends and so unnerved by the striking down of Lafoy, their leader, that they seemed like men half asleep. Before they could offer any resistance, they were bound with the same ropes that had held our friends in bondage. That is, all but the big Frenchman himself. He seemed beyond the need of binding. Mound, the engineer, and his assistant came hurrying in from the motor room followed by Coco. �We found him chained up!� Jerry explained as the big giant freed from his captivity rubbed his shaved wrists. �Are there any of the foreigners back there? Only those two knocked out by the lightning,� the engineer explained. �We've made them secure. I see you've got things here in shape.� �Yes,� replied Tom, �and now to see where we are and to get back home.� �Whew! But this has been a time. Coco, what happened to you? �They know that anything happened. I be in chains all the while,� the giant answered. �Jump on me before I can do anything. �Well, you're out now, and I think we'll have you stand guard over these men. The tables are turned,� Coco. �The bound ones were carried to the same prison once our friends had escaped, but their bonds were not taken off, and Coco was put in the place with them. By this time Lafoye and the two other stricken men showed signs of returning to life. They had only been stunned. The young inventor and his friends, once more in possession of their airship, lost little time in planning to return. They found that the spies were all expert aeronauts and had kept a careful chart of their location. They were then halfway across the Atlantic and in a short time longer would probably have been in some foreign country, but Tom turned the Mars about. The craft had only been slightly damaged by the lightning bolt, though three of the gas bag compartments were torn. The others sufficed, however, to make the ship sufficiently buoyant. When morning came, Tom and his friends had matters running almost as smoothly as before their capture. The prisoners had no chance to escape, and indeed they seemed to have been broken in spirit. Lafoye was no longer the insolent mocking Frenchman that he had been, and the two chief foreign engineers seemed to have lost some of their reason when the lightning struck them. �But it was a mighty lucky and narrow escape for us,� said Ned, as he and Tom sat in the pilot house the second day of the return trip. �That�s right,� agreed his chum. Once again they were above the earth and desiring to get rid as soon as possible of the presence of the spies a landing was made near New York City and the government authorities communicated with. Captain Warner and Lieutenant Marbury took charge of the prisoners with some secret servicemen and the foreigners were soon safely locked up. �And now where are you going to do, Tom?� asked Ned, when once more they had the airship to themselves. �I�m going back to Shopton, fix up the gas bag and give her another government trial,� was the answer. And in due time this was done. Tom added some improvements to the aircraft, making it better than ever, and when she was given the test required by the government, she was an unqualified success and the rights to the Mars were purchased for a large sum. In sailing and in the matter of guns and bombs, Tom�s craft answered every test. �So you see I was right after all, Dad� the young inventor said when informed that he had succeeded. �We can shoot off even bigger guns than I thought from the deck of the Mars.� �Yes, Tom� replied the aged inventor. �I admit I was wrong.� Tom�s aerial warship was even a bigger success than he had dared hope. Once the government meant fully understood how to run it, in which Tom played a prominent part in giving instructions, they put the Mars to a severe test. She was taken out over the ocean, and her guns trained on an obsolete battleship. Her bombs and projectiles blew the craft to pieces. �The Mars will be the naval terror of the seas in any future war�, predicted Captain Warner. The secret servicemen succeeded in unearthing all the details of the plot against Tom. His life at times had been in danger, but at the last minute the man detailed to harm him lost his nerve. It was Tom�s enemies who had set on fire the red shed, and who later tried to destroy the ship by putting a corrosive acid in one of the propellers. That plot, though, was not wholly successful. Then came the time when one of the spies hit on board and dropped the copper bar on the motor, short-circuiting it. But for the storage battery that scheme might have wrought fearful damage. The spy who had stowed himself away on the craft escaped at night by the connivance of one of Tom�s corrupt employees. The foreign spies were tried and found guilty, receiving merited punishment. Of course, the governments to which they belonged disclaimed any part in the seizure of Tom�s aerial worship. It came out at the trial that one of Tom�s most trusted employees had proved a traitor, and had the night before the test, allowed the foreign spies to secret themselves on board, to rush out at an opportune time to overpower our hero and his friends. But luck was with Tom at the end. �Well, what are you going to tackle next, Tom?� asked Ned, one day, about a month after these exciting experiences. �I don�t know,� was the slow answer. �I think a self-swinging hammock under an apple tree with a never-emptying picture of ice-cold lemonade would be about the thing. �Good, Tom, and if you invent that, I�ll share it with you. �Well, come on, let�s begin now,� laughed Tom. �I need a vacation anyhow.� But it is very much to be doubted if Tom Swift, even on a vacation, could refrain from trying to invent something, either in the line of airships, water, or land craft. And so, until he again comes to the front with something new, we will take leave of him.