CHAPTER XVIII
FINISHING TOUCHES
Tom Swift and Ned Newton were so accustomed to acting quickly and inemergencies that it did not take them long to run out the airship,which Tom had in readiness, not especially for this emergency, but todemonstrate his new apparatus to a committee of fire underwriters whomhe had invited to call in a few days.
"Take this, if you will, Mr. Baxter!" cried Tom, giving the chemist ametal container. "It's a little different combination from theextinguisher I already have in the machine. Maybe I'll get a chance totry it."
"You're going to have all the chance you want, Tom, by the looks ofthat blaze," commented Ned Newton.
"It does look like quite a fire," observed Tom, as he gazed up at thesky, where the reflection was turning to a brighter red.
Outside in the streets near the Swift house and shops could be heardthe rattle of fire apparatus, the patter of running feet, and manyshouts from excited men and boys.
"Any idea what it is, Ned?" asked Tom, as he motioned to Mr. Baxter toclimb into the aircraft.
"Some one said it was the new Normal School. But that's farther to thenorth," was Ned's answer. "By the way the blaze has increased since Ifirst saw it, I'd take it to be the lumberyard."
"That would make a monster blaze!" observed Tom. "I don't believe I'llhave chemicals enough for that," and he looked at the rather smallsupply in his craft. "However, I haven't time to get any more. Besides,they'll have the regular department on the job, and this isn't askyscraper, anyhow."
"No, we'll have to go to New York or Newmarket for one of those,"observed Ned. "All ready, Tom?"
"All ready," said the young inventor, as Ned took his place beside Mr.Baxter.
"What's the matter, Tom?" asked the voice of Mr. Swift, as he came outinto the yard, having been attracted by the flashing lights and thenoise of the aircraft motor, as Tom gave it a preliminary test.
"There's a fire in town," Tom answered. "I'm going to see if they needmy services."
"Guess there isn't any question about that," said his business manager.
Tom's father, who was suffering the infirmities of age, was in thehabit of retiring early, and he had dozed off in his chair directlyafter supper, to be awakened by the shouting and confusion about theplace.
"Take care of yourself, my boy!" he advised, as there came a moment ofsilence before the throttle of the aircraft was opened to send it onits upward journey. "Don't take too many risks."
"I won't," Tom promised. "We'll be back soon."
Then came the roar of the motor as Tom cut out the muffler to gainspeed and, a moment later, he and his two friends were sailing aloftwith a load of fire-extinguishing chemicals.
Up and up rose the aircraft. It was not the first time Mr. Baxter hadenjoyed the sensation, but he was not enough of a veteran to be immuneto the thrills nor to be altogether void of fear. And it was his firstnight trip. Still he gave few evidences of nervousness.
"These she is!" cried Ned, for when the exhaust from the motor was sentthrough the new muffler Tom had attached it was possible to talk aboardthe Lucifer. The young manager pointed down toward the earth, overwhich the craft was then skimming, though at no great height.
"It is the lumberyard!" exclaimed Mr. Baxter presently.
"It sure is," assented Tom. "I know I haven't enough stuff to cover asbig a blaze as that, but I'll do my best. Fortunately there is no windto speak of," he added, as he guided the craft in the direction of thefire.
"What has that to do with it--I mean as far as the working of yourchemical extinguisher is concerned?" asked Mr. Baxter. "Can't you dropthe bomb containers accurately in a wind?"
"Well, the wind has to be allowed for in dropping anything from anaeroplane," Tom answered. "And, naturally, it does spoil your aim to anextent. But the reason I'm glad there is no wind to speak of is thatthe chemical blanket I hope to spread over the fire won't be so quicklyblown away."
"Oh, I see," said Mr. Baxter. "Well, I'm glad that you will be able tohave a successful test of your invention."
"The regular land apparatus is on hand," observed Ned, for they werenow so near the fire that they could look down and, in the reflectionfrom the blaze, could see engines, hose-wagons and hook and laddertrucks arriving and deploying to different places of advantage, fromwhich to fight the lumberyard fire that was now a roaring furnace offlames.
"No skyscraper work needed here," observed Tom. "But it will give me achance to use the latest combination I worked out. I'll try that first.Are you ready with it, Mr. Baxter?"
"Yes," was the answer.
The young inventor, not heeding the cries of wonder that arose frombelow and paying no attention to the uplifted hands and arms pointingto him, steered his craft to a corner of the yard where there was asmall isolated fire in a pile of boards. It was Tom's idea to try hisnew chemical first on this spot to watch the effect. Then he would turnloose all his other containers of the chemical mixture that had provedso effective in other tests.
Attention of those who had gathered to look at the fire was aboutevenly divided between the efforts of the regular department and thepending action by Tom Swift. The latter was not long in turning loosehis latest sensation.
"Let it go!" he cried to Mr. Baxter, and down into the seething caldronof flame dropped a thin sheet-iron container of powerful chemicals.Leaning over the cockpit of the aircraft, the occupants watched theeffect. There was a slight explosion heard, even above the roar of theflames, and the tongues of fire in the section where Tom's extinguisherhad fallen died down.
"Good work!" cried Ned.
"No!" answered Tom, shaking his head. "I was a little afraid of this.Not enough carbon dioxide in this mixture. I'll stick to the one Ifound most effective." For the flames, after momentarily dying down,burst out again in the spot where he had dropped the bomb.
Tom wheeled the airship in a sharp, banking turn, and headed for theheart of the fire in the lumberyard. It was clearly getting beyond thecontrol of the regular department.
"How about you, Ned?" called Tom, for he had given his chum charge ofdropping the regular bombs containing a large quantity of theextinguisher Tom had practically adopted.
"All ready," was the answer.
"Let 'em go!" came the command, and down shot the dark, sphericalobjects. They burst as they hit the ground or the piles of blazinglumber, and at once the powerful gases generated by the mixture ofseveral different chemicals were released.
Again the three in the airship leaned eagerly over the side of thecockpit to watch the effect. It was almost magical in its action.
The bombs had been dropped into the very fiercest heart of the fire,and it was only an instant before their action was made manifest.
"This will do the trick!" cried Ned. "I'm certain it will."
"I didn't have much fear that it wouldn't," said Tom. "But I hoped theother would be better, for it is a much cheaper mixture to make, andthat will count when you come to sell it to big cities."
"But the fire is certainly dying down," declared Mr. Baxter.
And this was true. As container after container of the bomb type fellin different parts of the burning lumberyard, while Tom coursed aboveit, the flames began to be smothered in various sections.
And from the watching crowds, as well as from the hard-working membersof the Shopton fire department, came cheers of delight andencouragement as they saw the work of Tom Swift's aerial fire-fightingmachine.
For he had, most completely, subdued what threatened to be a greatfire, and when the last of his bombs had been dropped, so effective wasthe blanket of fire-dampening gases spread around that the flames justnaturally expired, as it were.
As Tom had said, the absence of wind was in his favor, for thegenerated gases remained just where they were wanted, directly over thefire like an extinguishing blanket, and were not blown aside as wouldotherwise have been the case.
And, by the peculiar manner in which his chemicals were mixed, Tom hadmade them pract
ically harmless for human beings to breathe. Though thefire-killing gases were unpleasant, there was no danger to life inthem, and while several of the firemen made wry faces, and one or twowere slightly ill from being too close to the chemicals, no one wasseriously inconvenienced.
"Well, I guess that's all," said Tom, when the final bomb had beendropped. "That was the last of them, wasn't it, Ned?"
"Yes, but you don't need any more. The fire's out--or what isn't can beeasily handled by the hose lines."
"Good!" cried Tom. "But, all the same, I wish I had been able to makethe first mixture work."
"Perhaps I can help you with that," suggested Mr. Baxter.
And the following day, after Tom had received the thanks of the townofficials and of the fire department for his work in subduing thelumberyard blaze, the young inventor called Josephus Baxter inconsultation.
"I feel that I need your help," said the young inventor. "You have beenat this chemical study longer than I, and I am willing to pay you wellfor your work. Of course I can't make up to you the loss of your dyeformulae. But while you are waiting for something to turn up in regardto them, you may be glad to assist me."
"I will, and without pay," said the chemist.
But Tom would not hear of that, and together he and Mr. Baxter setabout putting the finishing touches to Tom's latest invention.