"No, that German--the one who was at the machine shop." "But who is he--what is his object?""I don't know who he is, but he evidently wants my plans.Probablyhe's a disappointed inventor, who has been trying to make a gun himself, and can't.He wants some of my ideas, but he isn't going to get them.Well, we may as well get back to bed, after I connect these wires again.I must think up a plan to conceal them, so they can't be cut."While Tom and Ned were engaged on this, Koku came back, much out of breath, to report:
"Me not git, Master.He git on bang-bang machine and go off-- puff!" "So we heard, Koku.Never mind, we'll get him yet.""Hu! Ef I had de fust chanst at him, I'd a cotched dat coon suab!" declared Eradicate, following the giant."Koku he done git in mah way!" and he glared indignantly at the big man.
"That's all right, Rad," consoled Tom."You did your best.Now we'll all get to bed.I don't believe he'll come back." Nor did he.
Tom and Ned were up at the first sign of daylight, for they wanted to go to the steel works, some miles away, in time to see the cannon taken out of the mould, and preparations made for boring the rifle channels.They found the manager, anxiously waiting for them.
"Some of my men are as interested in this as you are," he said to the young inventor."A number of them declare that the cast will be a failure, while some think it will be a success.""I think it will be all right, if my plans were followed," said Tom."However, we'll see.By the way, what became of that German who made such a disturbance the day we cast the core?""Oh, you mean Baudermann?" "Yes."
"Why, it's rather queer about him.The foreman of the shop where he was detailed, saw that he was an experienced man, in spite of his seemingly stupid ways, and he was going to promote him, only he never came back.""Never came back? What do you mean?"
"I mean the day after the cast of the gun was made he disappeared, and never came back.""Oh!" exclaimed Tom.He said nothing more, but he believed that he understood the man's actions.Failing to obtain the desired information, orperhaps failing to spoil the cast, he realized that his chances were at an end for the present.
With great care the gun was hoisted from the mould.More eyes than Tom's anxiously regarded it as it came up out of the casting pit.
"Bless my buttonhook!" cried Mr.Damon, who had gone with the lads."It's a monster; isn't it?""Oh, wait until you see it with the jackets on exclaimed Ned, who had viewed the completed drawings."Then you'll open your eyes."The great piece of hollow steel tubing was lifted to the boring lathe.Then Tom and the manager examined it for superficial flaws.
"Not one!" cried the manager in delight.
"Not that I can see," added Tom.."It's a success--so far.""And that was the hardest part of the work," went on the manager of the steel plant."I can almost guarantee you success from now on."And, as far as the rifling was concerned, this was true.I will not weary you with the details of how the great core of Tom Swift's giant cannon was bored.Sufficient to say that, after some annoying delays, caused by breaks in the machinery, which had never before been used on such a gigantic piece of work, the rifling was done.After the jackets had been shrunk on, it would be rifled again, to make it true in case of any shrinkage.
Then came the almost Herculean task of shrinking on the great red-hot steel jackets and wire-windings, that would add strength to the great cannon.To do this the central core was set up on end, and the jackets, having been heated in an immense furnace, were hoisted by a great crane over the core, and lowered on it as one would lower his napkin ring over the rolled up napkin.
It took weeks of hard work to do this, and Tom and Ned, with Mr.Damon occasionally for company, remained almost constantly at the plant.But finally the cannon was completed, the rifling was done over again to correct any imperfections, and the manager said:
"You cannon is completed, Mr.Swift.I want to congratulate you on it.Never have we done such a stupendous piece of work.Only for your plans we could not have finished it.It was too big a problem for us.Your cannon is completed, but, of course, it will have to be mounted.What about thecarriage?"
"I have plans for that," replied Tom; "but for the present I am going to put it on a temporary one.I want to test the gun now.It looks all right, but whether it will shoot accurately, and for a greater distance than any cannon has ever sent a projectile before, is yet to be seen.""Where will you test it?"
"That is what we must decide.I don't want to take it too far from here.Perhaps you can select a place where it would be safe to fire it, say with a range of about thirty miles.""Thirty miles! why, my dear sir--"
"Oh, I'm not altogether sure that it will go that distance," interrupted Tom, with a smile; "but I'm going to try for it, and I want to be on the safe side.Is there such a place near here?""Yes, I guess we can pick one out.I'll let you know.""Then I must get back and arrange for my powder supply," went on the young inventor."We'll soon test my giant cannon!""Bless my ear-drums!" cried Mr.Damon."I hope nothing bursts.For if that goes up, Tom Swift--""I'm not making it to burst," put in Tom, with a smile."Don't worry.Now, Ned, back to Shopton to get ready for the test."
