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The Floating Press - Victor Appleton

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132 pages

English

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Tom Swift and His Big Tunnel is the 19th book in the original Tom Swift series. "Every boy possesses some form of inventive genius. Tom Swift is a bright, ingenious boy and his inventions and adventures make the most interesting kind of reading." "These spirited tales convey in a realistic way, the wonderful advances in land and sea locomotion and other successful inventions. Stories like these are impressed upon the memory and their reading is productive only of good." This series of adventure novels starring the genius boy inventor Tom Swift falls into the genre of "invention fiction" or "Edisonade".

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Children's

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Publié par	The Floating Press
Date de parution	01 janvier 2009
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781775413059
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0164€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

TOM SWIFT AND HIS BIG TUNNEL
OR, THE HIDDEN CITY OF THE ANDES
* * *
VICTOR APPLETON

*

Tom Swift and His Big Tunnel Or, The Hidden City of the Andes First published in 1916.
ISBN 978-1-775413-05-9
© 2008 THE FLOATING PRESS.
While every effort has been used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information contained in The Floating Press edition of this book, The Floating Press does not assume liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in this book. The Floating Press does not accept responsibility for loss suffered as a result of reliance upon the accuracy or currency of information contained in this book. Do not use while operating a motor vehicle or heavy equipment. Many suitcases look alike.
Visit www.thefloatingpress.com
Contents
*
Chapter I - An Appeal for Aid Chapter II - Explanations Chapter III - A Face at the Window Chapter IV - Tom's Experiments Chapter V - Mary's Present Chapter VI - Mr. Nestor's Letter Chapter VII - Off for Peru Chapter VIII - The Bearded Man Chapter IV - The Bomb Chapter X - Professor Bumper Chapter XI - In the Andes Chapter XII - The Tunnel Chapter XIII - Tom's Explosive Chapter XIV - Mysterious Disappearances Chapter XV - Frightened Indians Chapter XVI - On the Watch Chapter XVII - The Condor Chapter XVIII - The Indian Strike Chapter XIX - A Woman Tells Chapter XX - Despair Chapter XXI - A New Explosive Chapter XXII - The Fight Chapter XXIII - A Great Blast Chapter XXIV - The Hidden City Chapter XXV - Success
Chapter I - An Appeal for Aid
*
Tom Swift, seated in his laboratory engaged in trying tosolve a puzzling question that had arisen over one of hisinventions, was startled by a loud knock on the door. Soemphatic, in fact, was the summons that the door trembled,and Tom started to his feet in some alarm.
"Hello there!" he cried. "Don't break the door, Koku!" andthen he laughed. "No one but my giant would knock likethat," he said to himself. "He never does seem able to dothings gently. But I wonder why he is knocking. I told himto get the engine out of the airship, and Eradicate saidhe'd be around to answer the telephone and bell. I wonder ifanything has happened?"
Tom shoved back his chair, pushed aside the mass of papersover which he had been puzzling, and strode to the door.Flinging it open he confronted a veritable giant of a man,nearly eight feet tall, and big in proportion. The giant,Koku, for that was his name, smiled in a good-natured way,reminding one of an overgrown boy.
"Master hear my knock?" the giant asked cheerfully.
"Hear you, Koku? Say, I couldn't hear anything else!"exclaimed Tom. "Did you think you had to arouse the wholeneighborhood just to let me know you were at the door? Jove!I thought you'd have it off the hinges."
"If me break, me fix," said Koku, who, from his appearanceand from his imperfect command of English, was evidently aforeigner.
"Yes, I know you can fix lots of things, Koku," Tom wenton, kindly enough. "But you musn't forget what enormousstrength you have. That's the reason I sent you to take theengine out of the airship. You can lift it without using thechain hoist, and I can't get the chain hoist fast unless Iremove all the superstructure. I don't want to do that. Didyou get the engine out?"
"Not quite. Almost, Master."
"Then why are you here? Has anything gone wrong?"
"No, everything all right, Master. But man come tomachine shop and say he must have talk with you. I no lethim come past the gate, but I say I come and call you."
"That's right, Koku. Don't let any strangers past thegate. But why didn't Eradicate come and call me. He isn'tdoing anything, is he? Unless, indeed, he has gone to feedhis mule, Boomerang."
"Eradicate, he come to call you, but that black man nogood!" and Koku chuckled so heartily that he shook the floorof the office.
"What's the matter with Eradicate?" asked Tom, somewhatanxiously. "I hope you and he haven't had another row?"Eradicate had served Tom and his father long before Koku,the giant, had been brought back from one of the younginventor's many strange trips, and ever since then there hadbeen a jealous rivalry between the twain as to who shouldbest serve Tom.
"No trouble, Master," said Koku. "Eradicate he start tocome and tell you strange man want to have talk, butEradicate he no come fast enough. So I pick him up, and Iset him down by gate to stand on guard, and I come to tellyou. Koku come quick!"
"Oh, I knew it must be something like that!" exclaimed Tomin some vexation. "Now I'll have Eradicate complaining to methat you mauled him. Picked him up and set him down again."
"Sure. One hand!" boasted the giant. "Eradicate him not beheavy. More as a sack of flour now."
"No, poor Eradicate is getting pretty old and thin,"commented Tom. "He can't move very quickly. But you shouldhave let him come, Koku. It makes him feel badly when hethinks he can't be of service to me any more."
"Man say he in hurry." The giant spoke softly, as thoughhe felt the gentle rebuke Tom administered. "Koku run quicktell you—bang on door."
"Yes, you banged all right, Koku. Well, it can't behelped, I reckon. Where is this strange man? Who is he? Didyou ever see him before?"
"Me no can tell, Master. Not sure. But him now be at theouter gate. Eradicate watch."
"All right. I'll go and see who it is. I don't want anystrangers poking around here, especially with the plans ofmy new gyroscope lying in plain view."
Before he left the laboratory Tom swept into a desk drawerthe mass of papers and blue prints, and locked thereceptacle.
"No use taking any chances," he remarked. "I've had toomuch trouble with people trying to get inside informationabout dad's and my patents. Now, Koku, I'll go and see thisman."
The buildings composing the plant of Tom Swift and hisfather at Shopton were enclosed by a high, board fence, andat one of the entrances was a sort of gate-house, where someone was always on guard. Only those who could give a goodaccount of themselves, workmen in the plant, or those knownto the sentinel were admitted.
It happened that the colored man, Eradicate, was on guardat the gates this day when the stranger asked to see Tom.Koku, working on the airship engine not far away, saw thestranger. Hearing the man say he was in a hurry and notingthe slow progress of the aged Eradicate, who was troubledwith rheumatism, the giant took matters into his own hands.
Tom Swift entered the gate-house and saw, seated in achair, a man who was impatiently tapping the floor with histhick-soled shoe.
"Looks like a detective or a policeman in disguise,"thought Tom, for, almost invariably, members of thisprofession wear very thick-soled shoes. Opposite thestranger sat Eradicate, a much-injured look on his honest,black face.
"Oh, Massa Tom!" exclaimed Eradicate, as soon as the younginventor entered. "Dat Koku he—he—he done gone and cotchme by de collar ob mah coat, an' den he lif' me up, an' hesot me down so hard—so hard—dat he jar loose all mah backteef!" and Eradicate opened his mouth wide to display hisgleaming ivories.
"Eradicate, he no can come quick. He walk like sofashion!" and Koku, who had followed the young inventor,imitated the limping gait of the colored man with such aqueer effect that Tom could not help laughing, and thestranger smiled.
"Ef I gits holt on yo'—ef I does, yo' great, big,overgrown lummox, Ah'll—Ah'll—" began the colored man,stammeringly.
"There. That will do now!" interrupted Tom. "Don't quarrelin here. Koku, get back to that engine and lift out themotor. Eradicate, didn't father tell you to whitewash thechicken coops to-day?"
"Dat's what he done, Massa Tom."
"Well, go and see about that. I'll stay here for a while,and when I leave I'll call one of you, or some one else, tobe on guard. Skip now!"
Having thus disposed of the warring factions, Tom turnedto the stranger and after apologizing for the littleinterruption, asked:
"You wished to see me?"
"If you're Tom Swift; yes."
"Well, I'm Tom Swift," and the young owner of the namesmiled.
"I hope you will pardon a stranger for calling on you,"resumed the man, "but I'm in a lot of trouble, and I thinkyou are the only one who can help me out."
"What sort of trouble?" Tom inquired.
"Contracting trouble—tunnel blasting, to be exact. But ifyou have a few minutes to spare perhaps you will listen tomy story. You will then be better able to understand mydifficulty."
Tom Swift considered a moment. He was used to havingappeals for help made to him, and usually they were of abegging nature. He was often asked for money to help somestruggling inventor complete his machine.
In many cases the machines would have been of absolutelyno use if perfected. In other cases the inventions were ofthe utterly hopeless class, incapable of perfection, likesome perpetual motion apparatus. In these cases Tom turned adeaf ear, though if the inventor were in want our herorelieved him.
But this case did not seem to be like anything Tom hadever met with before.
"Contracting trouble—blasting," repeated the youth, as hemused over what he had heard.
"That's it," the man went on. "Permit me to introducemyself" and he held out a card, on which was the name
MR. JOB TITUS
Down in the lower left-hand corner was a line:
"Titus Brothers, Contractors."
"I am glad to meet you, Mr. Titus," Tom said warmly,offering his hand. "I don't know anything about thecontracting business, but if you do blasting I suppose youuse explosives, and I know a little about them."
"So I have heard, and that's why I came to you," thecontractor went on. "Now if you'll give me a few minutes ofyour time—"
"You had better come up to the house," interrupted Tom."We can talk more quietly there."
Calling a young fellow who was at work near by to occupythe gate-house, Tom led Mr. Titus toward the Swifthomestead, and, a little later, ushered him into thelibrary.
"Now I'll listen to you," the youth said, "though I can'tpromise to aid you."
"I realize that," returned Mr. Titus.