“‘Bless my bookmark!’ as Mr. Damon himself would say if he were here,” exclaimed Ned with a laugh.  “That’s a dandy.  But Mr. Damon didn’t give you this one,” and Ned picked up a dainty volume of verse. “‘To Tom Swift, with the best wishes of Mary—­’” but that was as far as he read, for Tom grabbed the book away, and closed the cover over the flyleaf, which bore some writing in a girl’s hand.  I think my old readers can guess whose hand it was.

“Wow!  Tom Swift reading poetry!” laughed Ned.

“Oh, cut it out,” begged his chum.  “I didn’t know that was among the books.  I got it last Christmas.  Now here’s a dandy one on lion hunting, Ned,” and to cover his confusion Tom shoved over a book containing many pictures of wild animals.

“Lion hunting; eh,” remarked Ned.  “Well, I guess you could give them some points on snapping lions with your moving picture camera, Tom.”

“Yes, I got some good views,” admitted the young inventor modestly.  “I may take the camera along on some trips in my noiseless airship.  Hello! here comes Koku back.  I hope he got what I wanted.”

A man, immense in size, a veritable giant, one of two whom Tom Swift had brought away from captivity with him, was entering the front gate.  He stopped to speak to Mr. Swift, Tom’s father, who was setting out some plants in a flower bed, taking them from a large wheel barrow filled with the blooms.

Mr. Swift, who was an inventor of note, had failed in his health of late, and the doctor had recommended him to be out of doors as much as possible.  He delighted in gardening, and was at it all day.

“Look!” suddenly cried Ned, pointing to the giant.  Then Tom and his chum saw a strange sight.

With a booming laugh, Koku picked up Mr. Swift gently and set him on a board that extended across the front part of the wheel barrow.  Then, as easily as if it was a pound weight, the big man lifted Mr. Swift, barrow, plants and all, in his two hands, and carried them across the garden to another flower bed, that was ready to be filled.

“No use to walk when I can carry you, Mr. Swift,” exclaimed Koku with a laugh.  “I overtook you quite nice; so?”

“Yes, you took me over in great shape, Koku!” replied the aged inventor with a smile at Koku’s English, for the giant frequently got his words backwards.  “That barrow is quite heavy for me to wheel.”

“You after this call me,” suggested Koku.

“Say, but he’s strong all right,” exclaimed Ned, “and that was an awkward thing to carry.”

“It sure was,” agreed Tom.  “I haven’t yet seen any one strong enough to match Koku.  And he’s gentle about it, too.  He’s very fond of dad.”

“And you too, I guess,” added Ned.

“Well, Koku, did you get that attachment?” asked Tom, as his giant servant entered the room.

“Yes, Mr. Tom.  I have it here,” and from his pocket Koku drew a heavy piece of steel that would have taxed the strength of either of the boys to lift with one hand.  But Koku’s pockets were very large and made specially strong of leather, for he was continually putting odd things in them.