cted Captain Warner.

The Secret Service men succeeded in unearthing all the details of the
plot against Tom. His life, at times, had been in danger, but at the
last minute the man detailed to harm him lost his nerve.

It was Tom's enemies who had set on fire the red shed, and who later
tried to destroy the ship by putting a corrosive acid in one of the
propellers. That plot, though, was not wholly successful. Then came the
time when one of the spies hid on board, and dropped the copper bar on
the motor, short-circuiting it. But for the storage-battery that scheme
might have wrought fearful damage. The spy who had stowed himself away
on the craft escaped at night by the connivance of one of Tom's corrupt
employees.

The foreign spies were tried and found guilty, receiving merited
punishment. Of course the governments to which they belonged disclaimed
any part in the seizure of Tom's aerial warship.

It came out at the trial that one of Tom's most trusted employees had
proved a traitor, and had the night before the test, allowed the
foreign spies to secrete themselves on board, to rush out at an
opportune time to overpower our hero and his friends. But luck was with
Tom at the end.

"Well, what are you going to tackle next, Tom?" asked Ned, one day
about a month after these exciting experiences.

"I don't know," was the slow answer. "I think a self-swinging hammock,
under an apple tree, with a never-emptying pitcher of ice-cold lemonade
would be about the thing."

"Good, Tom! And, if you'll invent that, I'll share it with you."

"Well, come on, let's begin now," laughed Tom. "I need a vacation,
anyhow."

But it is very much to be doubted if Tom Swift, even on a vacation,
could refrain from trying to invent something, either in the line of
airships, water, or land craft. And so, until he again comes to the
front with something flew, we will take leave of him.

THE TOM SWIFT SERIES

By VICTOR APPLETON

These spirited tales convey in a realistic way, the wonderful advances
in land and sea locomotion. Stories like these are impressed upon the
memory and their reading is productive only of good.

TOM SWIFT AND HIS MOTOR CYCLE
TOM SWIFT AND HIS MOTOR BOAT
TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIRSHIP
TOM SWIFT AND HIS SUBMARINE BOAT
TOM SWIFT AND HIS ELECTRIC RUNABOUT
TOM SWIFT AND HIS WIRELESS MESSAGE
TOM SWIFT AMONG THE DIAMOND MAKERS
TOM SWIFT IN THE CAVES OF ICE
TOM SWIFT AND HIS SKY RACER
T