“No, you let Boomerang stay where he is.  Come on, Ned.  We’ll see what we can do.  Mr. Damon—­”

“Yes, Tom, I’m right here,” answered the peculiar man, for he had come over from his home in Waterford to pay a visit to his friends, Tom and Mr. Swift.  “I’ll do anything I can to help you, Tom, bless my necktie!” he went on.  “Only say the word!”

“We’ve got to get some of the stuff out of the place!” Tom cried.  “We may be able to save it, but I can’t take a chance on putting out the fire and letting some of the things in there go up in smoke.  Come on!”

Those in the shed where was housed what Tom hoped would prove to be a successful aerial warship rushed to the open.  From the other shops and buildings nearby were pouring men and boys, for the Swift plant employed a number of hands now.

Above the shouts and yells, above the crackle of flames, could be heard the clanging of the alarm bell, set ringing by Koku, who had pulled the signal in the airship shed.  From there it had gone to every building in the plant, being relayed by the telephone operator, whose duty it was to look after that.

“My, you’ve got a big enough fire-fighting force, Tom!” cried Ned in his chum’s ear.

“Yes, I guess we can master it, if it hasn’t gotten the best of us.  Say, it’s going some, though!”

Tom pointed to where a shed, painted red—­a sign of danger—­ could be seen partly enveloped in smoke, amid the black clouds of which shot out red tongues of flame.

“What have you got it painted red for?” Ned asked pantingly, as they ran on.

“Because—­” Tom began, but the rest of the sentence was lost in a yell.

Tom had caught sight of Eradicate and the giant, Koku, unreeling from a central standpipe a long line of hose.

“Don’t take that!” Tom cried.  “Don’t use that hose!  Drop it!”

“What’s the matter?  Is it rotten?” Ned wanted to know.

“No, but if they pull it out the water will be turned on automatically.”

“Well, isn’t that what you want at a fire—­water?” Ned demanded.

“Not at this fire,” was Tom’s answer.  “There’s a lot of calcium carbide in that red shed—­that’s why it’s red—­to warn the men of danger.  You know what happens when water gets on carbide—­there’s an explosion, and there’s enough carbide in that shed to send the whole works sky high.

“Drop that hose!” yelled Tom in louder tones.  “Drop it, Rad—­ Koku!  Do you want to kill us all!”

CHAPTER III A DESPERATE BATTLE

Tom’s tones and voice were so insistent that the giant and the colored man had no choice but to obey.  They dropped the hose which, half unreeled, lay like some twisted snake in the grass.  Had it been pulled out all the way the water would have spurted from the nozzle, for it was of the automatic variety, with which Tom had equipped all his plant.