him."

"Bless my valentines!" ejaculated Mr. Damon, "I bet somebody else will
come too."

Mr. Damon must have been a prophet, for a fortnight later, when the
borrowed car got in to the Hendrickton terminal at the tail of the
transcontinental flyer, Tom Swift saw first of all Mary Nestor's rosy
face on the platform of the car.

"Tom! are you all right?" she cried, beaming down upon the young
inventor.

"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 ask
you, 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 the
voice 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 had
nothing on that suit for a mixture of colors, and Koku strutted like a
turkey-gobbler.

"My lawsy!" gasped Rad again, "he's as purty as a sunset. Is dat de way
de tailors out here build a man up? Sure's yo live, Massa Tom, I needs
a new suit of clo'es myself."

And before he got away from Hendrickton, Rad Sampson sported a suit off
the same piece of goods as that of Koku's. Otherwise there might have
been a lasting feud between the giant and the Swift's ancient serving
man.

Mr. Barton Swift had stood the easy journey in the private car very
well. 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 "official
route," as Ned called it. The time made by Hercules 0001 was even a
little better than before.

That the invention was well nigh perfect, and that it could do even
more than Mr. Bartholomew had hoped or Tom had claimed, was Mr. Swift's
conviction.

"Tom," he said to his son, "you have done a wonderful thing. Not only
have you completed a marvelous invention and gained thereby a lot of
money, and more in prospect, but you have aided in the world's progress
to no small degree.

"Speed in transportation is the big problem before the world of
commerce today. To move goods from point to point safely and cheaply,
as well as rapidly, is the great t