hand to Mr.
Peterson.

"I'm glad I could help you, Tom," spoke the other, warmly. "I was
afraid that if you had to wait until they shut off the power it would
be too late."

"It would--it would--er--I feel--I--"

Tom's voice trailed off into a whisper and he swayed on his feet.

"Cotch him!" cried Eradicate. "Cotch him! Massa Tom's hurt!" and only
just in time did Mr. Peterson clutch the young inventor in his arms.
For Tom, white of face, had fallen back in a dead faint.

CHAPTER II

"WE'LL TAKE A CHANCE!"

"Carry him into the house!" cried Mr. Swift, as he came running to
where Mr. Peterson was loosening Tom's collar.

"Git a doctor!" murmured Eradicate. "Call someone on de tellifoam! Git
fo' doctors!"

"We must get him into the house first," declared Mr. Damon, who, seeing
that Tom was off the shed roof, had stopped mid-way to the powerhouse,
and retraced his steps. "Let's carry him into the house. Bless my
pocketbook! but he must have been shocked worse than he thought."

They lifted the inert form of our hero and walked toward the mansion
with him, Mrs. Baggert, the housekeeper, standing in the doorway in
dismay, uncertain what to do.

And while Tom is being cared for I will take just a moment to tell my
new readers something more about him and his inventions, as they have
been related in the previous books of this series.

The first volume was called "Tom Swift and His Motor-Cycle," and this
machine was the means of his becoming acquainted with Mr. Wakefield
Damon, the odd gentleman who so often blessed things. On his
motor-cycle Tom had many adventures.

The lad was of an inventive mind, as was his father, and in the
succeeding books of the series, which you will find named in detail
elsewhere, I related how Tom got a motorboat, made an airship, and
later a submarine, in all of which craft he had strenuous times and
adventures.

His electric runabout was quite the fastest car on the road, and when
he sent his wonderful wireless message he saved himself and others from
Earthquake Island. He solved the secret of the diamond makers, and,
though he lost a fine balloon in the caves of ice, he soon had another
air craft--a regular sky-racer. His electric rifle saved a party from
the red pygmies in Elephant Land, and in his air glider he found the
platinum treasure. With his wizard camera, Tom took wonderful moving
pictures, and in the volume immediately preceding this present one,
called "Tom