CHAPTER III
A DESPERATE BATTLE
Tom's tones and voice were so insistent that the giant and the coloredman had no choice but to obey. They dropped the hose which, halfunreeled, lay like some twisted snake in the grass. Had it been pulledout all the way the water would have spurted from the nozzle, for itwas of the automatic variety, with which Tom had equipped all his plant.
"But what are you going to do, Tom, if you don't use water?" asked Ned,wonderingly.
"I don't know--yet, but I know water is the worst thing you can put oncarbide," returned Tom. For all he spoke Slowly his brain was workingfast. Already, even now, he was planning how best to give battle to theflames.
It needed but an instant's thought on the part of Ned to make himunderstand that Tom was right. It would be well-nigh fatal to use wateron carbide. Those of you who have bicycle lanterns, in which that notvery pleasant-smelling chemical is used, know that if a few drops ofwater are allowed to drip slowly on the gray crystals acetylene gas isgenerated, which makes a brilliant light. But, if the water drips toofast, the gas is generated too quickly, and an explosion results. Inlamps, of course, and in lighting plants where carbide is used, thereare automatic arrangements to prevent the water flowing too freely tothe chemical. But Tom knew if the hose were turned on the fire in thered shed a great explosion would result, for some of the tins ofcarbide would be melted by the heat.
Yet the fire needed to be coped with. Already the flames were comingthrough the roof, and the windows and door were spouting red fire andvolumes of smoke.
Several other employees of Tom's plant had made ready to unreel morehose, but the warning of the young inventor, shouted to Eradicate andKoku, had had its effect. Every man dropped the line he had begun tounreel.
"Ha! Massa Tom say drop de hose, but how yo' gwine t' squirt watah ona fire wifout a hose; answer me dat?" and Eradicate looked at Koku.
"Me no know," was the slow answer. "I guess Koku go pull shed down andstamp out fire."
"Huh! Maybe yo' could do dat in cannibal land, where yo' all comefrom," spoke Eradicate, "but yo' can't do dat heah! 'Sides, de red shedwill blow up soon. Dere's suffin' else in dere except carbide, an'dat's gwine t' go up soon, dat's suah!"
"Maybe you get your strong man-mule, Boomerang," suggested Koku."Nothing ever hurt him--explosion or nothing. He can kick shed all topieces, and put out fire."
"Dat's what I wanted t' do, but Massa Tom say I cain't," explained thecolored man. "Golly! Look at dat fire!"
Indeed the blaze was now assuming alarming proportions. The red shed,which was not a small structure, was blazing on all sides. About itstood the men from the various shops.
"Tom, you must do something," said Mr. Swift. "If the flames once reachthat helmanite--"
"I know, Father. But that explosive is in double vacuum containers, andit will be safe for some time yet. Besides, it's in the cellar. It'sthe carbide I'm most worried about. We daren't use water."
"But something will have to be done!" exclaimed Mr. Damon. "Bless myred necktie, if we don't--"
"Better get back a way," suggested Tom. "Something may go off!"
His words of warning had their effect, and the whole circle moved backseveral paces.
"Is there anything of value in the shed?" asked Ned.
"I should say there was!" Tom answered. "I hoped we could get some ofthem out, but we can't now--until the fire dies down a bit, at anyrate."
"Look, Tom! The pattern shop roof is catching!" shouted Mr. Swift,pointing to where a little spurt of flame showed on the roof of adistant building.
"It's from sparks!" Tom said.
"Any danger of using water there?" Ned wanted to know.
"No, use all you like! That's the only thing to do. Come on, you withthe hose!" Tom yelled. "Save the other buildings!"
"But are you going to let the red shed burn?" asked Mr. Swift. "Youknow what it means, Tom."
"Yes, Father, I know. And I'm going to fight that fire in a new way.But we must save the other buildings, too. Play water on all the othersheds and structures!" ordered the young inventor. "I'll tackle thisone myself. Oh, Ned!" he called.
"Yes," answered his chum. "What is it?"
"You take charge of protecting the place where the new aerial warshipis stored. Will you? I can't afford to lose that."
"I'll look after it, Tom. No harm in using water there, though; isthere?"
"Not if you don't use too much. Some of the woodwork isn't varnishedyet, and I wouldn't want it to be wet. But do the best you can. TakeKoku and Eradicate with you. They can't do any good here."
"Do you mean to say you're going to give up and let this burn?"
"Not a bit of it, Ned. But I have another plan I want to try. Livelynow! The wind's changing, and it's blowing over toward my aerialwarship shed. If that catches--"
Tom shook his head protestingly, and Ned set off on the run, calling tothe colored man and the giant to get out another line of hose.
"I wonder what Tom is going to do?" mused Ned, as he neared the bigshed he and the others had left on the alarm of fire.
Tom, himself, seemed in no doubt as to his procedure. With one look atthe blazing red shed, as if to form an opinion as to how much longer itcould burn without getting entirely beyond control, Tom set off on arun toward another large structure. Ned, glancing toward his chum,observed:
"The dirigible shed! I wonder what his game is? Surely that can't bein danger--it's too far off!"
Ned was right as to the last statement. The shed, where was housed agreat dirigible balloon Tom had made, but which he seldom used of late,was sufficiently removed from the zone of fire to be out of danger.
Meanwhile several members of the fire-fighting force that had beensummoned from the various shops by the alarm, had made an effort tosave from the red shed some of the more valuable of the contents. Therewere some machines in there, as well as explosives and chemicals, inaddition to the store of carbide.
But the fire was now too hot to enable much to be done in the way ofsalvage. One or two small things were carried out from a littleaddition to the main structure, and then the rescuers were driven backby the heat of the flames, as well as by the rolling clouds of blacksmoke.
"Keep away!" warned Mr. Swift. "It will explode soon. Keep back!"
"That's right!" added Mr. Damon. "Bless my powder-horn! We may all begoing sky-high soon, and without aid from any of Tom Swift'saeroplanes, either."
Warned by the aged inventor, the throng of men began slowly moving awayfrom the immediate neighborhood of the blazing shed. Though it mayseem to the reader that some time has elapsed since the first soundingof the alarm, all that I have set down took place in a very shortperiod--hardly three minutes elapsing since Tom and the others camerushing out of the aerial warship building.
Suddenly a cry arose from the crowd of men near the red shed. Ned, whostood ready with several lines of hose, in charge of Koku, Eradicateand others, to turn them on the airship shed, in case of need, lookedin the direction of the excited throng.
The young bank clerk saw a strange sight. From the top of the dirigibleballoon shed a long, black, cigar-shaped body arose, floating graduallyupward. The very roof of the shed slid back out of the way, as Tompressed the operating lever, and the dirigible was free to rise--asfree as though it had been in an open field.
"He's going up!" cried Ned in surprise. "Making an ascent at a timelike this, when he ought to stay here to fight the fire! What's gotteninto Tom, I'd like to know? I wonder if he can be--"
Ned did not finish his half-formed sentence. A dreadful thought cameinto his mind. What if the sudden fire, and the threatened danger, aswell as the prospective loss that confronted Tom, had affected his mind?
"It certainly looks so," mused Ned, as he saw the big balloon floatfree from the shed. There was no doubt but that Tom was in it. He couldbe seen standing within the pilot-house, operating the various wheelsand levers that controlled the ship of the air.
/> "What can he be up to?" marveled Ned. "Is he going to run away from thefire?"
Koku, Eradicate and several others were attracted by the sight of thegreat dirigible, now a considerable distance up in the air. Certainlyit looked as though Tom Swift were running away. Yet Ned knew his chumbetter than that.
Then, as they watched, Ned and the others saw the direction of theballoon change. She turned around in response to the influence of therudders and propellers, and was headed straight for the blazing shed,but some distance above it.
"What can he be planning?" wondered Ned.
He did not have long to wait to find out.
An instant later Tom's plan was made clear to his chum. He saw Tomcircling over the burning red shed, and then the bank clerk saw whatlooked like fine rain dropping from the lower part of the balloonstraight into the flames.
"He can't be dousing water on from up above there," reasoned Ned."Pouring water on carbide from a height is just as bad as spurting iton from a hose, though perhaps not so dangerous to the persons doingit. But it can't be--"
"By Jove!" suddenly exclaimed Ned, as he had a better view of what wasgoing on. "It's sand, that's what it is! Tom is giving battle to theflames with sand from the ballast bags of the dirigible! Hurray? That'sthe ticket! Sand! The only thing safe to use in case of an explosivechemical fire.
"Fine for you. Tom Swift! Fine!"