kville, and it is an out-of-the-way place. I never could understand
why Dr. Hendrix settled there. But there he is, and if we want him he
will have to come from there. The worst of it is that there are few
trains, and only a single railroad line from there to Shopton."

"Then I'll telegraph," decided Tom. "I'll offer him his own price, and
ask him to rush here as soon as he can."

"You had better let Dr. Kurtz and me attend to that part of it,"
suggested the physician. "Dr. Hendrix would hardly come on the request
of some one whom he did not know. I'll prepare a telegram, briefly
explaining the case. It is the sort of an operation Dr. Hendrix is much
interested in, and I think he will come on that account, if for no
other reason. I'll write out the message, and you can have Eradicate
take it to the telegraph office."

"I'll take it myself!" exclaimed Tom, as he got ready to go out into
the night with the urgent request. "Is there any immediate danger for
my father?" he asked.

"No; not any immediate danger," replied Dr. Gladby. "But the operation
is imperative if he is to live. It is his one and only chance."

Tom thought only of his father as he hurried on through the night. Even
the prospect of the great race, so soon to take place, had no part in
his mind.

"I'll not race until I'm sure dad is going to get better," he decided.
With the message to the noted specialist Tom also sent one to Mr.
Damon, telling him the news, and asking him to come to Shopton. Tom
felt that the presence of the odd gentleman would help him, and Mr.
Damon, who first intended to stay on at the Swift home until he and Tom
departed for Eagle Park, had gone back to his own residence to attend
to some business Tom knew he would come in the morning, and Mr. Damon
did arrive on the first train.

"Bless my soul!" he exclaimed with ready sympathy, as he extended his
hand to Tom. "What's all this?" The young inventor told him, beginning
with the fire that had been the cause of the excitement which produced
the change in Mr. Swift.

"But I have great hopes that the specialist will be able to cure him,"
said Tom, for, with the coming of daylight, his courage had returned to
him. "Dr. Gladby and Dr. Kurtz depend a great deal on Dr. Hendrix," he
said.

"Yes, he certainly is a wonderful man. I have heard a great deal about
him. I have no doubt but what he will cure your father. But about the
fire? How did it start?"

"I don't know, but now tha