Tom Swift and His Sky Racer; Or The Quickest Flight on Record Read online

  Chapter Five

  Building the Sky Racer

  "What will you do, if, after you have your little monoplane allconstructed, and get ready to race, you find that some one else has oneexactly like it at the meet?" asked Ned Newton one day, when he and Tomwere out in the big workshop, talking things over. "What will you do,Tom?"

  "I don't see that there is anything I can do. I'll go on to the meet,of course, and trust to some improvements I have since brought out, andto what I know about aeroplanes, to help me win the race. I'll know,too, who stole my plans."

  "But it will be too late, then."

  "Yes, too late, perhaps, to stop them from using the drawings, but nottoo late to punish them for the theft. It's a great mystery, and I'llbe on the anxious seat all the while. But it can't be helped."

  "When are you going to start work on the sky racer?"

  "Pretty soon, now. I've got another set of plans made, and I've fixedthem so that if they are stolen it won't do any one any good."

  "How's that?"

  "I've put in a whole lot of wrong figures and measurements, and scoresof lines and curves that mean nothing. I have marked the right figuresand lines by a secret mark, and when I work on them I'll use only theproper ones. But any one else wouldn't know this. Oh, I'll fool 'emthis time!"

  "I hope you do. Well, when you get the machine done I'd like to ride init. Will it carry two, as your Butterfly does?"

  "Yes, only it will be much different; and, of course, it will go muchfaster. I'll give you a ride, all right, Ned. Well, now I must get busyand see what material I need for what I hope will prove to be thespeediest aeroplane in the world."

  "That's going some! I must be leaving now. Don't forget your promise. Isaw Mary Nestor on my way over here. She was asking for you. She saidyou must be very busy, for she hadn't seen you in some time."

  "Um!" was all Tom answered, but by the blush that mounted to his faceit was evident that he was more interested in Mary Nestor than his mereexclamation indicated.

  When Ned had gone Tom got out pencil and paper, and was busily engagedin making some intricate calculations. He drew odd little sketches onthe margin of the sheet, and then wrote out a list of the things hewould need to construct the new aeroplane.

  This finished, he went to Mr. Jackson, the engineer, and asked him toget the various things together, and to have them put in the specialshop where Tom did most of his work.

  "I want to get the machine together as soon as I can," he remarked tothe engineer, "for it will need to be given a good tryout before Ienter in the race, and I may find that I'll have to make severalchanges in it."

  Mr. Jackson promised to attend to the matter right away, and then Tomwent in to talk to his father about the motor that was to whirl thepropeller of the new air craft.

  Mr. Swift had improved very much in the past few days, and though Dr.Gladby said he was far from being well, the physician declared therewas no reason why he should not do some inventive work.

  He and Tom were deep in an argument of gasoline motors, discussing thebest manner of attaching the fins to the cylinders to make themair-cooled, when a voice sounded outside, the voice of Eradicate:

  "Heah! Whar yo' goin'?" demanded the colored man. "Whar yo' goin'?"

  "Somebody's out in the garden!" exclaimed Tom, jumping up suddenly.

  "Perhaps it's the same person who took the plans!" suggested Mr. Swift.

  "Hold on, dere!" yelled Eradicate again.

  Then a voice replied:

  "Bless my insurance policy! What's the matter? Have there been burglarsaround? Why all these precautions? Bless my steam heater! Don't youknow me?"

  "Mr. Damon!" cried Tom, a look of pleasure coming over his face. "Mr.Damon is coming!"

  "So I should judge," responded Mr. Swift, with a smile. "I wonder whyEradicate didn't recognize him?"

  They learned why a moment later, for on looking from the librarywindow, Tom saw the colored man coming up the walk behind awell-dressed gentleman.

  "Why, mah goodness! It's Mr. Damon!" exclaimed Eradicate. "I didn'tknow yo', sah, wif dem whiskers on! I didn't, fo' a fac'!"

  "Bless my razor! I suppose it does make a difference," said theeccentric man. "Yes, my wife thought I'd look better, and more sedate,with a beard, so I grew one to please her. But I don't like it. A beardis too warm this kind of weather; eh, Tom?" And Mr. Damon waved hishand to the young inventor and his father, who stood in the low windowsof the library. "Entirely too warm, bless my finger-nails, yes!"

  "I agree with you!" exclaimed Tom. "Come in! We're glad to see you!"

  "I called to see if you aren't going on another trip to the North Pole,or somewhere in the Arctic regions," went on Mr. Damon.

  "Why?" inquired Tom.

  "Why, then this heavy beard of mine would come in handy. It would keepmy throat and chin warm." And Mr. Damon ran his hands through hisluxuriant whiskers.

  "No more northern trips right away," said Tom. "I'm about to build aspeedy monoplane, to take part in the big meet at Eagle Park."

  "Oh, yes, I heard about the meet," said Mr. Damon. "I'd like to be inthat."

  "Well, I'm building a machine that will carry two," went on Tom, "andif you think you can stand a speed of a hundred miles an hour, orbetter, I'll let you come with me. There are some races where apassenger is allowed."

  "Have you got a razor?" asked Mr. Damon suddenly.

  "What for?" inquired Mr. Swift, wondering what the eccentric man wasgoing to do.

  "Why, bless my shaving soap! I'm going to cut off my beard. If I go ina monoplane at a hundred miles an hour I don't want to make any moreresistance to the wind than possible, and my whiskers would certainlyhold back Tom's machine. Where's a razor? I'm going to shave at once.My wife won't mind when I tell her what it's for. Lend me a razor,please, Tom."

  "Oh, there's plenty of time," explained the lad, with a laugh. "Therace doesn't take place for over two months. But when it does, I thinkyou would be better off without a beard."

  "I know it," said Mr. Damon simply. "I'll shave before we enter thecontest, Tom. But now tell me all about it."

  Tom did so, relating the story of the theft of the plans. Mr. Damon wasfor having Andy arrested at once, but Mr. Swift and his son pointed outthat they had no evidence against him.

  "All we can do," said the young inventor, "is to keep watch on him, andsee if he is building another aeroplane. He has all the facilities, andhe may attempt to get ahead of me. If he enters a sky craft at the meetI'll be pretty sure that he has made it from my stolen plans."

  "Bless my wing tips!" cried Mr. Damon. "But can't we do anything tostop him?"

  "I'm afraid not," answered Tom; and then he showed Mr. Damon hisre-drawn plans, and told in detail of how he intended to construct thenew aeroplane.

  The eccentric man remained as the guest of the Swift family that night,departing for his home the next day, and promising to be on hand assoon as Tom was ready to test his new craft, which would be in about amonth.

  As the days passed, Tom, with the help of his father, whose health wasslightly better, and with the aid of Mr. Jackson, began work on thespeedy little sky racer.

  As you boys are all more or less familiar with aeroplanes, we will notdevote much space to the description of the new one Tom Swift made. Wecan describe it in general terms, but there were some features of itwhich Tom kept a secret from all save his father.

  Suffice it to say that Tom had decided to build a small air craft ofthe single-wing type, known as the monoplane. It was to be a crossbetween the Bleriot and the Antoinette, with the general features ofboth, but with many changes or improvements.

  The wings were shaped somewhat like those of a humming-bird, which, asis well known, can, at times, vibrate its wings with such velocity thatthe most rapid camera lens cannot quite catch.

  And when it is known that a bullet in flight has been successfullyphotographed, the speed of the wings of the humming-bird can be betterappreciated.

  The writer
has seen a friend, with a very rapid camera, which was usedto snap automobiles in flight, attempt to take a picture of ahumming-bird. He got the picture, all right, but the plate was blurred,showing that the wings had moved faster than the lens could throw themon the sensitive plate.

  Not that Tom intended the wings of his monoplane to vibrate, but headopted that style as being the best adapted to allow of rapid flightthrough the air; and the young inventor had determined that he wouldclip many minutes from the best record yet made.

  The body of his craft, between the forward wings and the rear ones,where the rudders were located, was shaped like a cigar, with sidewings somewhat like the fin keels of the ocean liner to prevent arolling motion. In addition, Tom had an ingenious device toautomatically adapt his monoplane to sudden currents of air that mightoverturn it, and this device was one of the points which he kept secret.

  The motor, which was air-cooled, was located forward, and was justabove the heads of the operator and the passenger who sat beside him.The single propeller, which was ten feet in diameter, gave a minimumthrust of one thousand pounds at two thousand revolutions per minute.

  This was one feature wherein Tom's craft differed from others. Theusual aeroplane propeller is eight feet in diameter, and gives fromfour to five hundred pounds thrust at about one thousand revolutionsper minute, so it can be readily seen wherein Tom had an advantage.

  "But I'm building this for speed," he said to Mr. Jackson, "and I'mgoing to get it! We'll make a hundred miles an hour without trouble."

  "I believe you," replied the engineer. "The motor you and your fatherhave made is a wonder for lightness and power."

  In fact, the whole monoplane was so light and frail as to give one theidea of a rather large model, instead of a real craft, intended forservice. But a careful inspection showed the great strength it had, forit was braced and guyed in a new way, and was as rigid as asteel-trussed bridge.

  "What are you going to call her?" asked Mr. Jackson, about two weeksafter they had started work on the craft, and when it had begun toassume shape and form.

  "I'm going to name her the Humming-Bird," replied Tom. "She's little,but oh, my!"

  "And I guess she'll bring home the prize," added the engineer.

  And as the days went by, and Tom, his father and Mr. Jackson continuedto work on the speedy craft, this hope grew in the heart of the younginventor. But he could not rid himself of worry as to the fate of theplans that had disappeared. Who had them? Was some one making a machinelike his own from them? Tom wished he knew.