Tom Swift And His Giant Cannon(汤姆·史威夫特和他的巨形炮)

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TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT CANNON

TOM SWIFT AND HIS

GIANT CANNON

(OR The Longest Shots on Record)

Victor Appleton

TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT CANNON

CHAPTER I

ON A LIVE WIRE

"Now, see here, Mr. Swift, you may think it all a sort of dream, and

imagine that I don't know what I'm talking about; but I do! If you'll

consent to finance this expedition to the extent of, say, ten thousand

dollars, I'll practically guarantee to give you back five times that sum

"I don't know, Alec, I don't know," slowly responded the aged inventor.

"I've heard those stories before, and in my experience nothing ever came

of them. Buried treasure, and lost vessels filled with gold, are all well and

good, but hunting for an opal mine on some little-heard-of island goes

them one better."

"Then you don't feel like backing me up in this matter, Mr. Swift?"

"No, Alec, I can't say I do. Why, just stop and think for a minute.

You're asking me to put ten thousand dollars into a company, to fit out an

expedition to go to this island--somewhere down near Panama, you say it

is--and try to locate the lost mine from which, some centuries ago, opals

and other precious stones came. It doesn't seem reasonable."

"But I'm sure I can find the mine, Mr. Swift!" persisted Alec Peterson,

who was almost as elderly a man as the one he addressed. "I have the old

documents that tell how rich the mine once was, how the old Mexican

rulers used to get their opals from it, and how all trace of it was lost in the

last century. I have all the landmarks down pat, and I'm sure I can find it.

Come on now, take a chance. Put in this ten thousand dollars. I can

manage the rest. You'll get back more than five times your investment."

"If you find the mine--yes."

"I tell you I will find it! Come now, Mr. Swift," and the visitor's voice

was very pleading, "you and your son Tom have made a fortune for

yourselves out of your different inventions. Be generous, and lend me this

ten thousand dollars."

Mr. Swift shook his head.

"I've heard you talk the same way before, Alec," he replied. "None of

your schemes ever amounted to anything. You've been a fortune-hunter all

TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT CANNON

your life, nearly; and what have you gotten out of it? Just a bare living."

"That's right, Mr. Swift, but I've had bad luck. I did find the lost gold

mine I went after some years ago, you remember."

"Yes, only to lose it because the missing heirs turned up, and took it

away from you. You could have made more at straight mining in the time

you spent on that scheme."

"Yes, I suppose I could; but this is going to be a success--I feel it in my

bones."

"That's what you say, every time, Alec. No, I don't believe I want to go

into this thing."

"Oh, come--do! For the sake of old times. Don't you recall how you

and I used to prospect together out in the gold country; how we shared our

failures and successes?"

"Yes, I remember that, Alec. Mighty few successes we had, though, in

those days."

"But now you've struck it rich, pardner," went on the pleader. "Help

me out in this scheme--do!"

"No, Alec. I'd rather give you three or four thousand dollars for

yourself, if you'd settle down to some steady work, instead of chasing all

over the country after visionary fortunes. You're getting too old to do that."

"Well, it's a fact I'm no longer young. But I'm afraid I'm too old to

settle down. You can't teach an old dog new tricks, pardner. This is my life,

and I'll have to live it until I pass out. Well, if you won't, you won't, I

suppose. By the way, where is Tom? I'd like to see him before I go back.

He's a mighty fine boy."

"That's what he is!" broke in a new voice. "Bless my overshoes, but he

is a smart lad! A wonderful lad, that's what! Why, bless my necktie, there

isn't anything he can't invent; from a button- hook to a battleship!

Wonderful boy--that's what!"

"I guess Tom's ears would burn if he could hear your praises, Mr.

Damon," laughed Mr. Swift. "Don't spoil him."

"Spoil Tom Swift? You couldn't do it in a hundred years!" cried Mr.

Damon, enthusiastically. "Bless my topknot! Not in a thousand years--no,

sir!"

TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT CANNON

"But where is he?" asked Mr. Peterson, who was evidently unused to

the extravagant manner of Mr. Damon.

"There he goes now!" exclaimed the gentleman who frequently

blessed himself, some article of his apparel, or some other object. "There

he goes now, flying over the house in that Humming Bird airship of his.

He said he was going to try out a new magneto he'd invented, and it seems

to be working all right. He said he wasn't going to take much of a flight,

and I guess he'll soon be back. Look at him! Isn't he a great one, though!"

"He certainly is," agreed Mr. Peterson, as he and Mr. Swift went to the

window, from which Mr. Damon had caught a glimpse of the youthful

Inventor in his airship. "A great lad. I wish he could come on this mine-

hunt with me, though I'd never consent to go in an airship. They're too

risky for an old man like me."

"They're as safe as a church when Tom Swift runs them!" declared Mr.

Damon. "I'm no boy, but I'd go anywhere with Tom."

"I'm afraid you wouldn't get Tom to go with you, Alec," went on Mr.

Swift, as he resumed his chair, the young inventor in his airship having

passed out of sight. "He's busy on some new invention now, I believe. I

think I heard him say something about a new rifle."

"Cannon it was, Mr. Swift," said Mr. Damon. "Tom has an idea that he

can make the biggest cannon in the world; but it's only an idea yet."

"Well, then I guess there's no hope of my interesting him in my opal

mine," said the fortune-hunter, with rather a disappointed smile. "Nor you

either, Mr. Swift."

"No, Alec, I'm afraid not. As I said, I'd rather give you outright three or

four thousand dollars, if you wanted it, provided that you used it for your

own personal needs, and promised not to sink it in some visionary search."

Mr. Peterson shook his head.

"I'm not actually in want," he said, "and I couldn't accept a gift of

money, Mr. Swift. This is a straight business proposition."

"Not much straight business in hunting for a mine that's been lost for

over a century," replied the aged inventor, with a glance at Mr. Damon,

who was still at the window, watching for a glimpse of Tom on his return

trip in the air craft.

TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT CANNON

"If Tom would go, I'd trail along," said the odd man. "We haven't done

anything worth speaking of since he used his great searchlight to detect the

smugglers. But I don't believe he'll go. That mining proposition sounds

good."

"It is good!" cried Mr. Peterson, with fervor, hoping he had found a

new "prospect" in Mr. Damon.

"But not business-good," declared Mr. Swift, and for some time the

three argued the matter, Mr. Swift continuing to shake his head.

Suddenly into the room there ran an aged colored man, much excited.

"Fo' de land sakes!" he cried. "Somebody oughter go out an' help

Massa Tom!"

"Why, what's the matter, Eradicate?" asked Mr. Swift, leaping to his

feet, an example followed by the other two men. "What has happened to

my son?"

"I dunno, Massa Swift, but I looked up jest now, an' dere he be, in dat

air-contraption ob his'n he calls de Hummin' Burd. He's ketched up fast on

de balloon shed roof, an' dere he's hangin' wif sparks an' flames a-shootin'

outer de airship suffin' scandalous! It's jest spittin' fire, dat's what it's a-

doin', an' ef somebody don't do suffin' fo' Massa Tom mighty quick, dere

ain't gwin t' be any Massa Tom; now dat's what I'se a 膖ellin' you!"

"Bless my shoe buttons!" gasped Mr. Damon. "Come on out,

everybody! We've got to help Tom!"

"Yes!" assented Mr. Swift. "Call someone on the telephone! Get a

doctor! Maybe he's shocked! Where's Koku, the giant? Maybe he can

help!"

"Now doan't yo' go t' gittin' all excited-laik," objected Eradicate

Sampson, the aged colored man. "Remember yo' all has got a weak heart,

Massa Swift!"

"I know it; but I must save my son. Hurry!"

Mr. Swift ran from the room, followed by Mr. Damon and Mr.

Peterson, while Eradicate trailed after them as fast as his tottering limbs

would carry him, murmuring to himself.

"There he is!" cried Mr. Damon, as he caught sight of the young

inventor in his airship, in a position of peril. Truly it was as Eradicate had

TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT CANNON

said. Caught on the slope of the roof of his big balloon shed, Tom Swift

was in great danger.

From his airship there shot dazzling sparks, and streamers of green and

violet fire. There was a snapping, cracking sound that could be heard

above the whir of the craft's propellers, for the motor was still running.

"Oh, Tom! Tom! What is it? What has happened?" cried his father.

"Keep back! Don't come too close!" yelled the young inventor, as he

clung to the seat of the aeroplane, that was tilted at a dangerous angle.

"Keep away!"

"What's the matter?" demanded Mr. Damon. "Bless my pocket comb --

what is it?"

"A live wire!" answered Tom. "I'm caught in a live wire! The trailer

attached to the wireless outfit on my airship is crossed with the wire from

the power plant. There's a short circuit somewhere. Don't come too close,

for it may burn through any second and drop down. Then it will twist

about like a snake!"

"Land ob massy!" cried Eradicate.

"What can we do to help you?" called Mr. Swift. "Shall I run and shut

off the power?" for in the shop where Tom did most of his inventive work

there was a powerful dynamo, and it was on one of the wires extending

from it, that brought current into the house, that the craft had caught.

"Yes, shut it off if you can!" Tom shouted back. "But be careful. Don't

get shocked! Wow! I got a touch of it myself that time!" and he could be

seen to writhe in his seat.

"Oh, hurry! hurry! Find Koku!" cried Mr. Swift to Mr. Damon, who

had started for the power house on the run.

The sparks and lances of fire seemed to increase around the young

inventor. The airship could be seen to slip slowly down the sloping roof.

"Land ob massy! He am suah gwine t' fall!" yelled Eradicate.

"Oh, he'll never get that current shut off in time!" murmured Mr. Swift,

as he started after Mr. Damon.

"Wait! I think I have a plan!" called Mr. Peterson. "I think I can save

Tom!"

He did not waste further time in talk, but, running to a nearby shed, he

TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT CANNON

got a long ladder that he saw standing under it. With this over his shoulder

he retraced his steps to the balloon hangar and placed the ladder against

the side. Then he started to climb up.

"What are you going to do?" yelled Tom, leaning over from his seat to

watch the elderly fortune-hunter.

"I'm going to cut that wire!" was the answer.

"Don't! If you touch it you'll be shocked to death! I may be able to get

out of here. So far I've only had light shocks, but the insulation is burning

out of my magneto, and that will soon stop. When it does I can't run the

motor, and--"

"I'm going to cut that wire!" again shouted Mr. Peterson.

"But you can't, without pliers and rubber gloves!" yelled Tom. "Keep

away, I tell you!"

The man on the ladder hesitated. Evidently he had not thought of the

necessity of protecting his hands by rubber covering, in order that the

electricity might be made harmless. He backed down to the ground.

"I saw a pair of old gloves in the shed!" he cried. "I'll get them--they

look like rubber."

"They are!" cried Tom, remembering now that he had been putting up

a new wire that day, and had left his rubber gloves there. "But you haven't

any pliers!" the lad went. "How can you cut wire without them? There's a

pair in the shop, but--"

"Heah dey be! Heah dey be!" cried Eradicate, as he produced a heavy

pair from his pocket. "I--I couldn't find de can-opener fo' Mrs. Baggert, an'

I jest got yo' pliers, Massa Tom. Oh, how glad I is dat I did. Here's de

pincers, Massa Peterson."

He handed them to the fortune-hunter, who came running back with

the rubber gloves. Mr. Damon was no more than half way to the power

house, which was quite a distance from the Swift homestead. Meanwhile

Tom's airship was slipping more and more, and a thick, pungent smoke

now surrounded it, coming from the burning insulation. The sparks and

electrical flames were worse than ever.

"Just a moment now, and I'll have you safe!" cried the fortune- hunter,

as he again mounted the ladder. Luckily the charged wire was near enough

TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT CANNON

to be reached by going nearly to the top of the ladder.

Holding the pincers in his rubber-gloved hands, the old man quickly

snipped the wire. There was a flash of sparks as the copper conductor was

severed, and then the shower of sparks about Tom's airship ceased.

In another second he had turned on full power, the propellers whizzed

with the quickness of light, and he rose in the air, off the shed roof, the

live wire no longer entangling him. Then he made a short circuit of the

work-shop yard, and came to the ground safely a little distance from the

balloon hangar.

"Saved! Tom is saved!" cried Mr. Swift, who had seen the act of Mr.

Peterson from a distance. "He saved my boy's life!"

"Thanks, Mr. Peterson!" exclaimed the young inventor, as he left his

seat and walked up to the fortune-hunter. "You certainly did me a good

turn then. It was touch and go! I couldn't have stayed there many seconds

longer. Next time I'll know better than to fly with a wireless trailer over a

live conductor," and he held out his hand to Mr. Peterson.

"I'm glad I could help you, Tom," spoke the other, warmly. "I was

afraid that if you had to wait until they shut off the power it would be too

late."

"It would--it would--er--I feel--I--"

Tom's voice trailed off into a whisper and he swayed on his feet.

"Cotch him!" cried Eradicate. "Cotch him! Massa Tom's hurt!" and

only just in time did Mr. Peterson clutch the young inventor in his arms.

For Tom, white of face, had fallen back in a dead faint.

TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT CANNON

CHAPTER II

"WE'LL TAKE A CHANCE!"

"Carry him into the house!" cried Mr. Swift, as he came running to

where Mr. Peterson was loosening Tom's collar.

"Git a doctor!" murmured Eradicate. "Call someone on de tellifoam!

Git fo' doctors!"

"We must get him into the house first," declared Mr. Damon, who,

seeing that Tom was off the shed roof, had stopped mid-way to the

powerhouse, and retraced his steps. "Let's carry him into the house. Bless

my pocketbook! but he must have been shocked worse than he thought."

They lifted the inert form of our hero and walked toward the mansion

with him, Mrs. Baggert, the housekeeper, standing in the doorway in

dismay, uncertain what to do.

And while Tom is being cared for I will take just a moment to tell my

new readers something more about him and his inventions, as they have

been related in the previous books of this series.

The first volume was called "Tom Swift and His Motor-Cycle," and

this machine was the means of his becoming acquainted with Mr.

Wakefield Damon, the odd gentleman who so often blessed things. On his

motor-cycle Tom had many adventures.

The lad was of an inventive mind, as was his father, and in the

succeeding books of the series, which you will find named in detail

elsewhere, I related how Tom got a motorboat, made an airship, and later a

submarine, in all of which craft he had strenuous times and adventures.

His electric runabout was quite the fastest car on the road, and when

he sent his wonderful wireless message he saved himself and others from

Earthquake Island. He solved the secret of the diamond makers, and,

though he lost a fine balloon in the caves of ice, he soon had another air

craft--a regular sky-racer. His electric rifle saved a party from the red

pygmies in Elephant Land, and in his air glider he found the platinum

treasure. With his wizard camera, Tom took wonderful moving pictures,

and in the volume immediately preceding this present one, called "Tom

TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT CANNON

Swift and His Great Searchlight," I had the pleasure of telling you how the

lad captured the smugglers who were working against Uncle Sam over the

border.

Tom, as you will see, had, with the help of 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.

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TOMSWIFTANDHISGIANTCANNON1TOMSWIFTANDHISGIANTCANNON(ORTheLongestShotsonRecord)VictorAppletonTOMSWIFTANDHISGIANTCANNON2CHAPTERIONALIVEWIRE"Now,seehere,Mr.Swift,youmaythinkitallasortofdream,andimaginethatIdon'tknowwhatI'mtalkingabout;butIdo!Ifyou'llconsenttofinancethisexpeditiontotheextentof,say,tenth...

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Tom Swift And His Giant Cannon(汤姆·史威夫特和他的巨形炮)

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