“Well, Dad, we’ll see,” began Tom easily.  “There she is, Ned,” he went on.  “Now, if you’ll come around here . . .”

But Tom never finished that sentence, for at that moment there came running into the airship shed an elderly, short, stout, fussy gentleman, followed by an aged colored man.  Both of them seemed very much excited.

“Bless my socks, Tom!” cried the short, stout man.  “There sure is trouble!”

“I should say So, Massa Tom!” added the colored man.  “I done did prognosticate dat some day de combustible material of which dat shed am composed would conflaggrate—­”

“What’s the matter?” interrupted Tom, jumping forward.  “Speak out!  Eradicate!  Mr. Damon, what is it?”

“The red shed!” cried the short little man.  “The red shed, Tom!”

“It’s on fire!” yelled the colored man.

“Great thunderclaps!” cried Tom.  “Come on—­everybody on the job!” he yelled.  “Koku, pull the alarm!  If that red shed goes—­”

Instantly the place was in confusion.  Tom and Ned, looking from a window of the hangar, saw a billow of black smoke roll across the yard.  But already the private fire bell was clanging out its warning.  And, while the work of fighting the flames is under way, I will halt the progress of this story long enough to give my new readers a little idea of who Tom Swift is, so they may read this book more intelligently.  Those of you who have perused the previous volumes may skip this part.

Tom Swift, though rather young in years, was an inventor of note.  His tastes and talents were developed along the line of machinery and locomotion.  Motorcycles, automobiles, motorboats, submarine craft, and, latest of all, craft of the air, had occupied the attention of Tom Swift and his father for some years.

Mr. Swift was a widower, and lived with Tom, his only son, in the village of Shopton, New York State.  Mrs. Baggert kept house for them, and an aged colored man, Eradicate Sampson, with his mule, Boomerang, did “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.