THE CIRCUS MAN
Without a word Tom and Ned followed Mr. Damon toward the Swift
house. Truth to tell the youths did not know what to say, or they
would have been bubbling over with questions. But the talk of the
odd man, and his strange request to Tom to go off and capture a
giant had so startled the young inventor and his chum that they did
not know whether to think that Mr. Damon was joking, or whether he
had suddenly taken leave of his senses.
And while I have a few minutes that are occupied in the journey to
the house I will introduce my new readers more formally to Tom Swift
and his friends.
Tom though only a young man, was an inventor of note, as his father
was before him. Father and son lived in a fine house in the town of
Shopton, in New York state, and Mrs. Swift being dead, the two were
well looked after by Mrs. Baggert their housekeeper. Eradicate
Sampson, as I have said, was the man of all work about the place.
Ned Newton who had a position in a Shopton bank, was Tom's
particular chum, and Mr. Wakefeld Damon, of the neighboring town of
Waterfield, was a friend to all who knew him. He had the odd habit
of blessing anything and everything he could think of, interspersing
it in his talk.
In the first volume of this series, called "Tom Swift and His
Motor-Cycle," I related how Tom made the acquaintance of Mr. Damon,
afterward purchasing a damaged motor-cycle from the odd gentleman.
On this machine Tom had many adventures, incidentally saving some of
his father's valuable patents from a gang of conspirators. Later Tom
got a motor boat, and had many races with his rivals on Lake
Carlopa, beating Andy Foger, the red-haired bully of the town, in
signal fashion. After his adventures on the water Tom sighed for
some in the air, and he had them in his airship the Red Cloud.
"Tom Swift and His Submarine Boat." is a story of a search after
sunken treasure, and, returning from that quest Tom built an
electric runabout, the speediest car on the road. By means of a
wireless message, later, Tom was able to save himself and the
castaways of Earthquake Island, and, as a direct outcome of that
experience, he was able to go in search of the diamond makers, and
solve the secret of Phantom Mountain, as told in the book dealing
with that subject.
When he went to the caves of ice Tom had bad luck, for his airship
was wrecked, and he endured many hardships in getting home with his
companions, particularly as Andy Foger sought revenge on him.
But Tom pluckily overcame all obstacles and, later, he built a sky
racer, in which he made the quickest trip on record. After that,
with his electric rifle, he went after elephants in the interior of
Africa and was successful in rescuing some missionaries from the
terrible red pygmies.
One of the mission workers, later, sent Tom details about a buried
city of gold in Mexico, and Tom and his chum together with Mr. Damon
located this mysterious place after much trouble, as told in the
book entitled, "Tom Swift in the City of Gold." The gold did not
prove as valuable as they expected, as it was of low grade, but they
got considerable money for it, and were then ready for more
adventures.
The adventures soon came, as those of you who have read the book
called, "Tom Swift and His Air Glider," can testify. In that I told
how Tom went to Siberia, and after rescuing some Russian political
exiles, found a valuable deposit of platinum, which to-day is a more
valuable metal than gold. Tom needed some platinum for his
electrical machines, and it proved very useful.
He had been back from Russia all winter and, now that Spring had
come again, our hero sighed for more activity, and fresh adventures.
And with the advent of Mr. Damon, and his mysterious talk about
giants, Tom seemed likely to be gratified.
The two chums and the odd gentleman continued on to the house, no
one speaking, until finally, when they were seated in the library,
Mr. Damon said:
"Well, Tom, are you ready to listen to me now, and have me explain
what I meant when I asked you to get a giant?"
"I--I suppose so," hesitated the young inventor. "But hadn't I
better call dad? And are you sure you don't want to lie down and
collect your thoughts? A nice hot cup of tea--"
"There, there, Tom Swift; If you tell me to lie down again, or
propose any more tea I'll use you as a punching bag, bless my boxing
gloves if I don't!" cried Mr. Damon and he laughed heartily. "I know
what you think, Tom, and you, too, Ned," he went on, still
chuckling. "You think I don't know what I'm saying, but I'll soon
prove that I do. I'm fully in my senses, I'm not crazy, I'm not
talking in my sleep, and I'm very much in earnest. Tom, this is the
chance of your life to get a giant, and pay a visit to giant land.
Will you take it?"
"Mr. Damon, I--er--that is I--"
Tom stammered and looked at Ned.
"Now look here, Tom Swift!" exclaimed the odd man. "When you got
word about the buried city of gold in Mexico you didn't hesitate a
minute about making up your mind to go there; did you?"
"No, I didn't."
"Well, that wasn't any more of a strain on your imagination than
this giant business; was it?"
"Well, I don't know, as--"
"Bless my spectacles! Of course it wasn't! Now, look here. Tom, you
just make up your mind that I know what I'm talking about, and we'll
get along better. I don't blame you for being a bit puzzled at
first, but just you listen. You believe there are such things as
giants; don't you?"
"I saw a man in the circus once, seven feet high. They called him a
giant," spoke Ned.
"A giant! He was a baby compared to the kind of giants I mean," said
Mr. Damon quickly. "Tom, we are going after a race of giants, the
smallest one of which is probably eight feet high, and from that
they go on up to nearly ten feet, and they're not slim fellows
either, but big in proportion. Now in giant land--"
"Here's Mrs. Baggert with a quieting cup of tea," interrupted Tom.
"I spoke to her as we came in, and asked her to have some ready. If
you'll drink this, Mr. Damon, I'm sure--"
"Bless my sugar bowl, Tom! You make a man nervous, with your cups of
tea. I'm more quiet than you, but I'll drink it to please you. Now
listen to me."
"All right, go ahead."
"A friend of mine has asked me if I knew any one who could undertake
to go to giant land, and get him one or two specimens of the big men
there. I at once thought of you, and I said I believed you would go.
And I'll go with you, Tom! Think of that! I've got faith enough in
the proposition to go myself!"
There was no mistaking Mr. Damon's manner. He was very much in
earnest, and Tom and Ned looked at each other with a different light
in their eyes.
"Who is your friend, and where in the world is giant land?" asked
Tom. "I haven't heard of such a place since I read the accounts of
the early travelers, before this continent was discovered. Who is
your friend that wants a giant?"
"If you'll let me, I'll have him here in a minute, Tom."
"Of course I will. But good land! Have you got him concealed up your
sleeve, or under some of the chairs? Is he a dwarf?" and Tom looked
about the room as if he expected to see some one in hiding.
"I left him outside in the garden, Tom," replied the odd man. "I
told him I'd come on ahead, and see how you took the proposition.
Don't tell him you thought me insane at first. I'll have him here in
a jiffy. I'll signal to him."
Not waiting for a word from either of the boys, Mr. Damon went to
one of the low library windows, opened it, gave a shrill whistle and
waved his handkerchief vigorously. In a moment there came an
answering whistle.
"He's coming," announced the odd gentleman.
"But who is he?" insisted Tom. "Is he some professor who wants a
giant to examine, or is he a millionaire who wants one for a body
guard?"
"Neither one, Tom. He's the proprietor of a number of circuses, and
a string of museums, and he wants a giant, or even two of them, for
exhibition purposes. There's lots of money in giants. He's had some
seven, and even eight feet tall, but he has lately heard of a land
where the tallest man is nearly ten feet high, and very big, and
he'll pay ten thousand dollars for a giant alive and in good
condition, as the animal men say. I believe we can get one for him,
and--Ah, here he is now," and Mr. Damon interrupted himself as a
small, dark-complexioned man, with a very black mustache, black
eyes, a watch chain as big around as his thumb, a red vest, a large
white hat, and a suit of large-sized checked clothes appeared at the
open library window.
"Is it all right?" this strange-appearing man asked of Mr. Damon.
"I believe so," replied the odd gentleman. "Come in, Sam."
With one bound, though the window was some distance from the ground,
the little man leaped into the library. He landed lightly on his
feet, quickly turned two hand springs in rapid succession, and then,
without breathing in the least rapidly, as most men would have done
after that exertion, he made a low bow to Tom and Ned.
"Boys, let me introduce you to my friend, Sam Preston, an old
acrobat and now a circus proprietor," said Mr. Damon. "Mr. Preston,
this is Tom Swift, of whom I told you, and his chum, Ned Newton."
"And will they get the giant for me?" asked the circus man quickly.
"I think they will," replied Mr. Damon. "I had a little difficulty
in making the matter clear to them, and that's why I sent for you.
You can explain everything."
"Have a chair," invited Tom politely. "This is a new one on me--going
after giants. I've done almost everything else, though."
"So Mr. Damon said," spoke Mr. Preston gravely. He was much more
sedate and composed than one would have supposed after his
sensational entrance into the room. "I am very glad to meet you, Tom
Swift, and I hope we can do business together. Now, if you have a
few minutes to spare, I'll tell you all I know about giant land."