Chapter 17 Tom Swift and His Sky Train by Victor Appleton
A MIGHTY SPLASH
Tom Swift fully intended next day, when Daniel came to work, to ask his assistant what was meant by those words. But so many things happened all at once that the matter passed from the mind of the young inventor. He spoke to Daniel as the sullen-faced and rather morose young man went to his desk, and after a casual inquiry about the boy, learning that he was playing about as usual, Tom was going to proceed with his inquiry when his telephone rang.
“Good!” Tom exclaimed when he had listened a few seconds. “That’s fine!”
“Well, good news for a change?” asked Ned.
“The big gliders are ready,” Tom announced, hanging up the instrument. “We must send the Silver Cloud for them right away.”
“She’s awaiting orders,” Ned stated. “I’ll have her out of the hangar shortly. Going to send Koku along? He could help load the knocked-down gliders into the dirigible.”
“I’ve got plenty of other men available for that, and the National people are supposed to do the loading, anyhow. I want to keep Koku here. I’m going to have the Eagle closely guarded. I can depend on Koku as I can on no one else except you, Ned.”
“I see you’re still worrying over the time something nearly happened,” spoke Ned.
“That’s right, yes. I’m taking no chances. Too much depends upon the success of my sky train now. I hear the Acton people are rushing things to beat me out at the World Exposition.”
“They won’t have a look-in, Tom, when their sky train is compared to yours. Why, they can’t drop off and pick up gliders.”
“Maybe not, but first in the field means a big advantage. I want all I can get. No, I won’t send Koku in the Silver Cloud, but I wish you’d have Mr. Jackson go. I want him to look the gliders over before they are loaded for shipment here.”
“I’ll do that, Tom. Anything else?”
“No, except get in all the money you can. We’ll need it. I’m going to put on extra help as soon as the gliders get here.”
“Our bank account is in pretty fair shape. Of course it all depends upon the success of the sky train. Make good on that and our credit goes up. Fail and——”
“We fall down—needn’t tell me,” finished Tom, grimly. “But I’m not going to fail.”
In a short time the Silver Cloud, borrowed from the Jardine concern, was on its way to the National plant, several hundred miles from Shopton. Mr. Jackson and a crew of picked men sailed in the big dirigible.
“Things will have to hum when she comes back,” remarked Tom as he watched the big silver gas bag shoot along under the impulses of the motors and propellers.
The next few days were anxious ones for Tom and Ned. They received word from Mr. Jackson that the Silver Cloud had arrived safely and that the big, new gliders were up to specifications. Then came word that they had been loaded into the dirigible which had started back with the cargo. Record time was made on the home trip and one morning Tom went down to the plant to find the crew busy unloading the last units of what was to be his completed and perfected sky train.
“Good!” exclaimed the young inventor, with a satisfied smile. “Now let’s put ’em together and have a tryout.”
Inside of a week, by rushing the work, all the gliders were set up, and ready for a test. Meanwhile the Eagle had been groomed for a flight which would tell whether or not that craft was capable of hauling a full complement of “cars” in the sky train, “cars” that would be fully loaded. Also the smaller, auxiliary airplanes that were to take up loaded, single gliders to attach to the rear of the train, were gotten in shape. Tom planned to station one or more gliders, with an auxiliary plane, at Chicago and also at Denver for the preliminary tests of picking up a “car” load of passengers in full flight. Later other way-stations might be established. But now two would serve for the test.
While the gliders were being put together at the shop, there was shipped, by the Silver Cloud, an auxiliary plane and a glider each to Chicago and Denver. Tom made arrangements to use the airfields in these two cities for his experiments.
“And now it begins to look like something,” Tom said to Ned one night after a hard day’s work.
“It sure does,” was the answer.
“Wasn’t Daniel in today?” Tom asked, as he noted a pile of unfinished work on his assistant’s desk.
“Why, no,” Ned replied. “Last night, after you’d gone and he and I were here alone, he asked me if I thought you’d mind if he took the day off. Said he had to take his boy back to the hospital for an examination. Knowing what I did of your innocent part in the accident, Tom, I said I thought it would be all right.”
“Sure! I’m glad you did. Poor chap! I’m sorry about his boy. I intend to do something about his eyesight if I can do it without hurting Daniel’s feelings. He’s as touchy as a sensitive plant.”
“Yes,” Ned agreed. “You’ll have to go slow with him. When he left last night he asked when the complete sky train would be ready for a test with the new gliders. I told him I thought tomorrow, and he asked if he could go up.”
“He did?” inquired Tom, sharply. “Did he give any reason?”
“No. Just said he was interested and he thought he could do the drawings better, in case any more were needed, if he saw the actual operation of the sky train.”
“I guess he’s right. No, I haven’t any objection to his making another trial flight. I suppose he’ll pack a ’chute as he did before, but I hope he doesn’t have to use it.”
“It would be more than a coincidence if he did,” Ned commented.
The day came, at last, when Tom Swift was to give his sky train a test of pulling a full load of gliders. The Eagle was to do this. Then descents would be made and the ascents tried. This feature was much more difficult to accomplish than the letting go of gliders and Tom was quite anxious about it.
“Well, let’s go!” he said to Ned at length, as, having looked over the sky train on the ground, Tom led the way to the cabin of the Eagle.
“It’s sort of do or die, isn’t it?” remarked Ned.
“Yes, but I have no intention of dying. We’ll make a success of this, you’ll see!”
“Hope so. Going to take Mary up this time?”
“No, not until I test everything out.”
The new gliders had all been equipped with the double dual magnetic control, and the “cars” of the sky train extended in a line back of the Eagle, the motors of which were slowly turning over to warm up.
Tom had given orders that his most experienced pilots were to be in charge of the airplane and each individual glider. He and Ned would be in the cabin of the plane, and Tom himself was ready and competent to pilot the big craft if need be.
In each glider there were to be ten persons. More could be accommodated, but this number was sufficient for a good test. The test passengers were mostly men from the shops and friends of theirs who were only too eager to take what little risk there was for the sake of the thrill and experience.
“Do you mind if I go in the next to the tail glider, Mr. Swift?” Daniel asked as the time for the start drew near.
“Not at all. Go in any glider you like. But where is your parachute?” He saw that Daniel did not have one on his back.
“Oh, I don’t imagine I’ll need it this time,” said the man with just the suggestion of a smile. “I don’t believe anything will happen. That new coupler certainly looks good,” he went on as he bent over the device holding the tail glider to the one just ahead of it.
“I hope it works,” Tom said. “How about it, Lacter?” he called to one of the plane pilots. “All set?”
“All set, Mr. Swift!”
“Then let’s go!” called Tom, and amid the increased throbbing of the powerful motors, the Eagle began to gather speed, taxied across the big field and then suddenly arose, pulling the loaded gliders after her tail like the appendage of a boy’s kite.
Up into the air rose Tom Swift’s sky train for the first time fully equipped and loaded, and with the new gliders intended to be used in the cross-country flight. Up and up and then, straightening out, the mighty traveler of the air went ahead like some strange, immense snake.
“She works, Tom! She works!” cried Ned.
“Seems to,” was the answer. “But we’ve got to wait a bit. I’m going to signal to have a glider hoisted up and attached to the rear as we skim along. Then I’ll have that one cut off. It will prove whether or not everything is all right.”
“I’m sure it will be,” Ned remarked.
The sky train was now going at almost full speed. Out over Lake Carlopa the pilots guided the big affair in response to Tom’s signals. He and Ned gazed down into the blue waters.
Suddenly there was a slight jar felt, as if something had hit the sky train. Apprehensively Tom and Ned looked back at the string of gliders, and Ned cried:
“There she goes—cutting loose!”
Before Tom could reply the last glider in the train plunged down into Lake Carlopa with a loud and mighty splash!