Chapter XXV
Speed and Success
"What town is that?"
"Looks like a splotch of paint on a board fence, we went by so quick."
"I've lost count, Bartholomew. Where are we?"
Ned Newton listened to these comments from the visiting railroad menwith delight. In reply to a question of his neighbor, the grinningfinancial manager of the Swift Construction Company paid:
"No, sir. That isn't a picket fence. It's the telegraph poles you see,and they are no nearer together than on another railroad. But we'regoing some."
"Bless my railroad stock!" shouted Mr. Damon, "I should say we were."
The electric locomotive and the private car were hurled toward the PasAlos Range at a speed that almost frightened some of the guests.
"Three-quarters of an hour!" gasped one man as they began to see theoutskirts of Hammon. "And ninety-six miles? Great Scott, Bartholomew!that's over two miles a minute!"
"That is the speed we set out to get," Mr. Richard Bartholomew said,with quite as much pride as though he had done it all himself.
But it had been his suggestion and his money that had accomplished thiswonder. Tom Swift was willing to give the railroad president his shareof the fame.
The train scarcely slackened speed at Hammon, for Tom got the signalannouncing a clear track ahead, and he bucked the grade with all thepower he could get from the feed wires. This hill, so well known to himnow, was surmounted at a slightly decreased speed; but it was awonderful display of power after all.
They went down the other side to Panboro and there linked up with aneastbound freight that the Hercules 0001 snatched over the mountain toHammon at a pace slightly exceeding forty-five miles an hour--at leasttwice the speed that any two oil-burning locomotives could attain. Asfor the Jandels, they were not in the same class at all with TomSwift's locomotive!
"Bless my speedometer!" exclaimed Mr. Damon, when the train pulled downand stopped again at the Hendrickton terminal. "This is the greatesttest of speed and power I ever heard of. Why, a coal burner or an oilburner isn't in it with this Hercules locomotive! What do you say, Mr.Bartholomew?"
"I'll say I am satisfied--completely and thoroughly satisfied, Mr.Damon," said the president of the Hendrickton & Pas Alos Railroadfrankly. "Mr. Swift has fulfilled his contract in every particular."
An hour later the young inventor and his two friends were in conferencewith Mr. Bartholomew over a new contract. The bonus of a hundredthousand dollars would be paid at once to the Swift ConstructionCompany. But as the elder Swift's name would be needed on the newcontract for the building of other Hercules locomotives, Tom had anidea.
"We won't send the papers East for father to sign," he said. "I wanthim to see the locomotive in real action. And I know where he canborrow a private car and come out here in comfort. Rad can come withhim."
"Bless my valentines!" ejaculated Mr. Damon, "I bet somebody else willcome too."
Mr. Damon must have been a prophet, for a fortnight later, when theborrowed car got in to the Hendrickton terminal at the tail of thetranscontinental flyer, Tom Swift saw first of all Mary Nestor's rosyface on the platform of the car.
"Tom! are you all right?" she cried, beaming down upon the younginventor.
"No. Half of me is left," he said, grinning up at her. "You look great,Mary!"
"Do you think so?" she cried, dimpling. "Well, if anybody should askyou, Mr. Tom Swift, you look very good to me."
"Don't make me swell all up, Mary," he laughed. "How's father?"
"Splendid! And Rad--"
"Eradicate Sampson is sho' 'nough puffectly all right," broke in thevoice of the old colored man, eager to make himself heard and seen."Here I is, Massa Tom. What dat lizard doin' here? Ain't he a sight?"
The old man had caught sight of Koku in the wonderful new suit Mr.Bartholomew had ordered made for the giant. A Navajo blanket hadnothing on that suit for a mixture of colors, and Koku strutted like aturkey-gobbler.
"My lawsy!" gasped Rad again, "he's as purty as a sunset. Is dat de wayde tailors out here build a man up? Sure's yo live, Massa Tom, I needsa new suit of clo'es myself."
And before he got away from Hendrickton, Rad Sampson sported a suit offthe same piece of goods as that of Koku's. Otherwise there might havebeen a lasting feud between the giant and the Swift's ancient servingman.
Mr. Barton Swift had stood the easy journey in the private car verywell. Before he would sign the contract that Mr. Bartholomew offered,he wished to see for himself just how good his son's invention was.
They made another test from Hendrickton to Panboro, over the "officialroute," as Ned called it. The time made by Hercules 0001 was even alittle better than before.
That the invention was well nigh perfect, and that it could do evenmore than Mr. Bartholomew had hoped or Tom had claimed, was Mr. Swift'sconviction.
"Tom," he said to his son, "you have done a wonderful thing. Not onlyhave you completed a marvelous invention and gained thereby a lot ofmoney, and more in prospect, but you have aided in the world's progressto no small degree.
"Speed in transportation is the big problem before the world ofcommerce today. To move goods from point to point safely and cheaply,as well as rapidly, is the great task of this age. We are entering theAge of Speed. The railroads must solve the problem to compete withmotor-truck traffic and fast boats on the lakes and rivers of our land.
"You have, by your invention, shoved the clock of progress forward. Iam proud of you, my boy. I know now that, no matter what may happen tome, you will make an enviable mark in the world of invention.
"You have done much before for the Government in time of stress. Butwar engines of any kind are not worthy examples of inventive geniusbeside such a thing as this.
"It is the inventions of peace, rather than those of war, that standfor human progress."
Coming back over the mountain, Mary Nestor rode in the cab with Tom.She sat on the swivel stool, in fact, and handled the controls for partof the way. But she gave up the driver's place to Tom before theyreached the timber siding east of Cliff City.
"I cannot go by that place without a shudder," Mary said to theinventor. "Ned and Mr. Damon told me all about that accident. Supposeyou had been killed, Tom!"
"I see I'll have to build an invention that will make that impossible,"chuckled the young fellow.
"Make what impossible?"
"Some invention that will make it positively certain that no matterwhat I do or where I go, nothing can harm me. Nothing else will suityou, Mary, I plainly see."
"Well," returned the girl, smiling fondly at him. "I admit that wouldsatisfy me completely!"
Tom Swift and His Electric Locomotive; Or, Two Miles a Minute on the Rails Page 25