"odd jobs" about the Shopton home and factories.

Among Tom's friends was a Mr. Wakefield Damon, from a nearby village.
Mr. Damon was always blessing something, from his hat to his shoes, a
harmless sort of habit that seemed to afford him much comfort. Then
there was Ned Newton, a boyhood chum of Tom's, who worked in the
Shopton bank. I will just mention Mary Nestor, a young lady of Shopton,
in whom Tom was more than ordinarily interested. I have spoken of Koku,
the giant. He really was a giant of a man, of enormous strength, and
was one of two whom Tom had brought with him from a strange land where
Tom was held captive for a time. You may read about it in a book
devoted to those adventures.

Tom took Koku into his service, somewhat to the dismay of Eradicate,
who was desperately jealous. But poor Eradicate was getting old, and
could not do as much as he thought he could. So, in a great measure,
Koku replaced him, and Tom found much use for the giant's strength.

Tom had begun his inventive work when, some years before this story
opens, he had bargained for Mr. Damon's motorcycle, after that machine
had shot its owner into a tree. Mr. Damon was, naturally, perhaps, much
disgusted, and sold the affair cheap. Tom repaired it, made some
improvements, and, in the first volume of this series, entitled "Tom
Swift and His Motor-cycle," you may read of his rather thrilling
adventures on his speedy road-steed.

From then on Tom had passed a busy life, making many machines and
having some thrilling times with them. Just previous to the opening of
this story Tom had made a peculiar instrument, described in the volume
entitled "Tom Swift and His Photo-Telephone." With that a person
talking could not only see the features of the person with whom he was
conversing, but, by means of a selenium plate and a sort of camera, a
permanent picture could be taken of the person at either end of the
wire.

By means of this invention Tom had been able to make a picture that had
saved a fortune. But Tom did not stop there. With him to invent was as
natural and necessary as breathing. He simply could not stop it. And so
we find him now about to show to his chum, Ned Newton, his latest
patent, an aerial warship, which, however, was not the success Tom had
hoped for.

But just at present other matters than the warship were in Tom's mind.
The red shed was on fire.

That mere statement might not mean anything special to the ordinary
person,