ng, or I'll twist yo' tail, dat's what I will!
Hurry, Massa Tom!"

Tom leaped out of bed.

CHAPTER XIII

THE CAPTURE

Tom Swift was something like a fireman. He had lived so long in an
atmosphere of constant alarms and danger, that he was always ready for
almost any emergency. His room was equipped with the end in view that
he could act promptly and effectively.

So, when he heard Eradicate's alarm, though he wondered what the old
colored man was doing out of bed at that hour, Tom did not stop to
reason out that puzzle. He acted quickly.

His first care was to throw on the main switch, connected with a big
storage battery, and to which were attached the wires of the lighting
system. This at once illuminated every shop in the plant, and also the
grounds themselves. Tom wanted to see what was going on. The use of a
storage battery eliminated the running of the dynamo all night.

And once he had done this, Tom began pulling on some clothes and a pair
of shoes. At the same time he reached out with one hand and pressed a
button that sounded an alarm in the sleeping quarters of Koku, the
giant, and in the rooms of some of the older and most trusted men.

All this while Eradicate was shouting away, down in the yard.

"Massa Tom! Massa Tom!" he called. "Hurry! Hurry! Dey is killin' Koku!"

"Killing Koku!" exclaimed Tom, as he finished his hasty dressing. "Then
my giant must already be in the fracas. I wonder what it's all about,
anyhow."

"What's up, Tom?" came Ned's voice from the adjoining room. "I thought
I heard a noise."

"Your thoughts do you credit, Ned!" Tom answered. "If you listen right
close, you'll hear several noises."

"By Jove! You're right, old man!"

Tom could hear his chum bound out of bed to the floor, and, at the same
time, from the big shed where Tom was building his aerial warship came
a series of yells and shouts.

"That's Koku's voice!" Tom exclaimed, as he recognized the tones of the
giant.

"I'm coming, Tom!" Ned informed his chum. "Wait a minute."

"No time to wait," Tom replied, buttoning his coat as he sped down the
hall.

"Oh, Tom, what is it?" asked Mrs. Baggert, the housekeeper, looking
from her room.

"I don't know. But don't let dad get excited, no matter what happens.
Just put him off until I come back. I think it isn't anything serious."

Mr. Damon, who roomed next to Ned, came out of his own apartment
partially dressed.

"Bless my suspenders!" he cried to