Tom Swift Among the Fire Fighters; Or, Battling with Flames from the Air

by Victor Appleton

  CHAPTER VI

  TOM IS WORRIED

  Dropping what he had in his hands, Tom Swift raced back to thelaboratory where he had left Eradicate to mix the chemicals. Again thedespairing, frightened cry of the colored man rang out.

  "I hope nothing serious has happened," was the thought that flashedthrough Tom's mind. "But I'm afraid it has. I should have mixed thosenew chemicals myself."

  Koku, the giant, who was at work in another part of the shop yard,heard Rad's cry and came running up. As there was always more or lessjealousy between Eradicate and Koku, the latter now thought he had achance to crow over his rival, not, of course, understanding what hadhappened.

  "Ho! Ho!" laughed Koku. "You much better hab me work, Master Tom. I nomake blunderstakes like dat black fellow! I never no make him!"

  "I don't know whether Rad has made a mistake or not," murmured Tom."Come along, Koku, we may need your help. There has been an explosion."

  "Yep, dat Rad he don't as know any more as to blow up de whole place!"chuckled Koku.

  He thought he would have a chance to make fun of Eradicate, but neitherhe nor Tom realized how serious had been the happening. As the younginventor reached the laboratory, which he had left but a few secondsbefore, he saw the interior almost in ruins. All about were scatteredvarious pieces of apparatus, test tubes, alembics, retorts, flasks, andan electric furnace.

  But what gave Tom more concern than anything else was the sight ofEradicate lying in the midst of broken glass on the floor. The coloredman was moaning and held his hands over his face, and the younginventor could see that the hands, which had labored so hard andfaithfully in his service, were cut and bleeding.

  "Rad! Rad! what has happened?" cried Tom quickly.

  "It sploded! It done sploded right in mah face!" moaned Eradicate."I--I can't see no mo', Massa Tom! I can't see to help yo' nevah nomo'!"

  "Don't worry about that, Rad!" cried Tom, as cheerfully as possibleunder the circumstances. "We'll soon have you fixed up! Come in here,Koku, and help me carry Rad out!"

  Though the fumes from the chemicals that had exploded were choking,causing both Tom and Koku to gasp for breath, they never hesitated. Inthey rushed and picked up the limp figure of the helpless colored man.

  "Poor Rad!" murmured the giant Koku tenderly. "Him bad hurt! I carryhim, Master Tom! I take him bed, an' I go for doctor! I run likepainted pig!"

  Probably Koku meant "greased pig," but Tom never thought of that. Allhis concern was for his faithful Eradicate.

  "Me carry him, Master Tom!" cried Koku, all the petty jealousy of hisrival passing away now. "Me take care ob Rad. Him no see, me see forhim. Anybody hurt Rad now, got to hurt Koku first!"

  It was a fine and generous spirit that the giant was showing, thoughTom had no time to speculate on it just then.

  "We must get him into the house, Koku," said the young inventor. "Andtwo of us can carry him better than one. After we get him to a bed youcan go for the doctor, though I fancy the telephone can run evenquicker than you can, Koku."

  "Whatever Master Tom say," returned the giant humbly, as he looked withpity at the suffering form of his rival--a rival no longer. It seemedthat Rad's working days were over.

  Tenderly the aged colored man was laid on a lounge in the living room,Mr. Swift and Mrs. Baggert hovering over him.

  "Where are you worst hurt, Rad?" asked Tom, with a view to getting aline on which physician would be the best one to summon.

  "It's all in mah face, Massa Tom," moaned the colored man. "It's maheyes. Dat stuff done sploded right in 'em! I can't see--nevah no mo'!"

  "Oh, I guess it isn't as bad as that," said Tom. But when he had aglimpse of the seared and wounded face of his faithful servant he couldnot repress a shudder.

  A physician was summoned by telephone, and he arrived in his automobileat the same time that Mr. Damon reached Tom's house.

  "Bless my bottle of arnica, Tom!" exclaimed the eccentric man, withsympathy in his voice. "What's this I hear? One of your men tells meold Eradicate is killed!"

  "Not as bad as that, yet," replied Tom, as he came out, leaving thedoctor to make his first examination. "It was an explosion of my newaerial fire-fighting chemicals that I left Rad to mix for me. Ifanything serious results to him from this I'll drop the whole business!I'll never forgive myself!"

  "It wasn't your fault, Tom. Perhaps he did something wrong," said Mr.Damon.

  "Yes, it was my fault. I should not have let him take the chance with amixture I had tried only a few times. But we'll hope for the best. Howis he, Doctor?" Tom asked a little later when the physician came out onthe porch.

  "He's doing as well as can be expected for the present," was theanswer. "I have given him a quieting mixture. His worst injury seems tobe to his face. His hands are cut by broken glass, but the hurts areonly superficial. I think we shall have to get an eye specialist tolook at him in a day or two."

  "You mean that he--that he may go blind?" gasped Tom.

  "Well, we'll not decide right away," replied the doctor, as cheerfullyas he could. "I should rather have the opinion of an oculist beforemaking that statement. It may be only temporary."

  "That's bad enough!" muttered Tom. "Poor old Rad!"

  "Me take care ob him," put in Koku, who had been humbly standing aroundwaiting to hear the news. "Me never be mad at dat black man no more!Him my best friend! I lub him like I did my brudder!"

  "Thank you, Koku," said Tom, and his mind went back to the time when hehad escaped in his airship from the gigantic men, of whom Koku and hisbrother were two specimens. The brother had gone with a circus, andKoku, for several years, only saw him occasionally.

  Everything possible was done for Eradicate, and the doctor said that itwould be several days, until after the burns from the explodingchemicals had partly healed, before the eye-doctor could make anexamination.

  "Then we can only wait and hope," said Tom.

  "And hope for the best!" advised Mr. Damon.

  "I'll try," promised Tom. He went back to the laboratory with hiseccentric friend and with Ned, who had come over as soon as he heardthe news. Not much of an examination could be made, as the place was insuch ruins. But it was surmised that in combining the two chemicalmixtures a new one had been created, or at least one that Tom had notcounted on. This had exploded, blowing Eradicate down, flaring a sheetof flame up into his face, scattering broken glass about, and generallycreating havoc.

  "I can't understand it," said Tom. "I was trying to make a fireextinguishing liquid, and it turned out to be a fire creator. I don'tsee what was wrong."

  "One chemical might have been impure," suggested Ned.

  "Yes," agreed Tom. "I'll check them over and try to find out where themistake happened."

  "This place will have to be rebuilt," observed Ned. "It's in bad shape,Tom."

  "I don't mind that in the least, if Rad doesn't lose his eyesight," wasthe answer of the young inventor, and his friends could see that he wasmuch worried, as well he might be.

  In silence Tom Swift looked about the ruins of what had been a finechemical laboratory.

  "It will take a month to get this back in shape," he said ruefully. "Iguess I shall have to postpone my experiments."

  "Why not ask Mr. Baxter to help you?" suggested Ned.

  "What can he do?" Tom wanted to know. "He hasn't any laboratory."

  "He has a sort of one," Ned rejoined. "You know you told me to keeptrack of him and give him any help I could."

  "Yes," Tom nodded.

  "Well, the other day he came to me and said he had a chance to set up asmall laboratory in a vacant shop near the river. He needed a littlecapital and I lent it to him, as you told me to."

  "Glad you did," returned Tom. "But do you suppose his plant is largeenough to enable me to work there until mine is in shape again?"

  "It wouldn't do any harm to take a look," suggested Ned.

  "I'll do it!" decided Tom, more hopefully than he had spoken since theaccident.