Tom Swift and His Giant Telescope | Page 6

beyond me."
[Illustration: "Someone on Another Planet Fired the Missile."]
As he finished speaking, the boys reached the Swift residence. The
young inventor's father had built the handsome white house many years
before his son was born. Beyond were the several buildings where the
inventions of Tom Swift and his father, Barton Swift, were
manufactured.
Of recent years the latter had not been active, but had put the affairs in
the hands of his capable son Tom, ably assisted by Ned Newton. The
older man now spent most of his time writing scientific books and
articles.
[Illustration: The Boys Reached the Swift Residence]
The boys washed as quickly as possible so as not to delay dinner, for
both possessed healthy appetites. Joining Mr. Swift in the library, they
found him and Mr. Damon deep in a game of chess.
"Check!" cried Tom's father triumphantly, moving his king. "Got you
again, Damon!"
"Bless my pawns and castles!" exclaimed the eccentric gentleman.
"You've won three straight games!"
[Illustration: Mr. Swift, Tom's Father]

"Hello, Dad!" said Tom suddenly. "I see you're up to your old tricks!"
In spite of his bantering tone the young inventor was pleased that his
father was relaxing in a friendly game.
"Your father shouldn't be in the amateur class any more, Tom!" Mr.
Damon grumbled playfully. "Bless my trophy cup, but I'm afraid to
play with him!"
"Better luck next time," consoled Mr. Swift, a twinkle in his eye.
Mr. Damon left, refusing an invitation to dinner and saying that he had
to take his car to a garage for a minor repair job before starting for his
home in Waterford, a near-by town.
[Illustration: "Hello, Dad," Said Tom]
"How goes it with you, son?" asked Mr. Swift when Tom returned from
seeing his guest to the door. "Your new space eye, as you call it--is it
working out?"
"I think so, Dad, but wait until I get the big model built!"
[Illustration: Tom Saw Mr. Damon to the Door]
"Genmens, dinnah am serbed!" An old negro thrust his white-fringed
head through the library door. "An' it sho' am good!" Eradicate
Sampson, so-called for his work in younger days of eradicating dirt
from the homes of Shopton, had been attached to the Swift household
for many years and now regarded himself as one of the family.
As they sat at table the conversation of the three turned naturally to
Tom's latest invention. Mr. Swift had not heard yet all Tom's ideas of
the proposed telescope and was full of eager questions.
[Illustration: Eradicate Sampson]
"Just how long do you think it will take to make your big disk, son?"
asked Mr. Swift. "That is, if you find any more of the new material."

"The meteorite is already on board a north-bound freight steamer,"
answered Tom, "and ought to get here within the next ten days. It'll
require at least three weeks to extract all the X and cast it into shape.
Taking everything into consideration, I should say it will be at least six
weeks before we can test the device. The matter depends entirely on
finding a lot of X in the planet stone. But I'm sure I shall."
[Illustration: "The Meteorite Is Northbound!"]
After dinner the boys went over to the main office of the Swift
Construction Company to clear up a number of routine business matters
which required Tom's personal attention. He had postponed them for a
while to give more time to his new experiments.
[Illustration: The Boys Went to the Main Office]
"Now, young fellow, I'm not letting you get away until you've looked
over these papers!" declared Ned, pretending to threaten his chum with
a yardstick. "I've been after you for a week about 'em!"
Tom dodged and pretended to be scared. "You're right, though," he
admitted.
The two worked rapidly. Within an hour the seemingly endless stack of
documents had shrunk to a few letters and bills. Just as Ned was
reaching for one of them the telephone rang in the outer office.
[Illustration: The Two Worked Rapidly]
"I'll get it, Tom," his chum said.
"Sit still," replied the young inventor. "I'll switch it to my private
phone."
"Tom Swift speaking," he said into the mouthpiece a moment later.
"Oh, hello, Mrs. Damon. What's that? But I don't understand. No, there
must be some mistake!" A loud click sounded in the receiver and Tom
jerked the instrument from his ear.

"What's wrong?" asked Ned, noting his friend's serious face.
[Illustration: Tom Jerked the Instrument From His Ear]
"Mr. Damon's been hurt in an auto accident. For some reason his wife
is blaming it on me! Come, we must get to the hospital at once!"
[Illustration: "Mr. Damon's Been Hurt!"]
CHAPTER IV
A MURDEROUS ATTEMPT
"You drive, Tom," said Ned, for they had come from