Читать книгу Tom Swift and his Giant Magnet - Howard R Garis - Страница 7
ОглавлениеRIVAL BIDDERS
Tom Swift, in spite of his usual philosophical demeanor, could not restrain a feeling of resentment against Harburg. The man’s manner was arrogant and domineering. He seemed to demand as a right that which others asked as a favor. Consequently, Tom mentally steeled himself against his unexpected caller and coldly said:
“I do not transact business at my home, especially when I have guests,” and he indicated Lieutenant Nestor. “I seem to remember telling you, over the telephone, that I would have nothing to do with your proposition. I don’t like the way you do business. You seem to have lost little time in getting here from New York,” went on Tom. “It was only a few minutes ago that you said you were talking from New York. I have some pretty speedy airplanes,” and Tom’s smile was sarcastic, “but none that would make the trip from New York in the time that has elapsed since you called me.”
“Look here, Mr. Swift,” began Harburg, and there was a distinct change in his manner; it was somewhat apologetic. “I didn’t mean to deceive you. As a matter of fact I was in Shopton when I called you up. I’ve been here several days waiting to get in touch with you but I couldn’t make it. I think you may have misunderstood me. I may have said I was from New York for I have my offices there, and you may have thought I said I was in New York. I know you were pretty excited and——”
“I admit I was excited,” Tom conceded, for he was fair, even to his enemies and those whom he did not like. “Your imperative demands were enough to excite anyone. It is possible that I may have misunderstood you. However, we will let that pass. The point is I don’t do business outside my office and, more than that, I will have nothing to do with your proposition. I am committed to Mr. Parlet.”
“See here, Mr. Swift,” broke in Harburg, and he was pleading now, rather than insisting, “you’ve just got to let me in on this. I mean,” he quickly shifted his words, “it will be to your interests to do so. I could force matters with Parlet, for it’s true that I own much stock in his company. But I won’t go to that end if I can help it. I want to make you a fair business proposition and it will mean big money for you. Please listen to me.”
The man’s arrogant manner had so changed that Tom, in fairness, could but say:
“As a business man I suppose I ought to hear what you have to say, or at least let my manager, Mr. Newton, pass on it. That does not alter my rule that I will not discuss business here. You must come to my office if you have anything to say.”
“I certainly have, and it will amaze you when I tell it,” declared Harburg. “I have been trying, for the last week, to see you at your office, but when I was not turned away by an old Negro, I was chased away by a giant.”
“Yes, Koku would be likely to chase you,” chuckled Tom. “As a matter of fact, no one, except my wife, has been allowed to see me for more than a week. But I can’t give you any further time. I have company,” and again he indicated his wife’s cousin.
“Then will you see me later—at your office?”
“I may—I won’t promise. To be frank with you, I don’t like the way you started to do business with me. I’m not in the habit of being forced to share my inventions with anyone.”
“Perhaps I made a mistake, Mr. Swift,” and Harburg’s manner was now very apologetic. “But this is going to be a big thing for both of us if your giant magnet works as you hoped to make it.”
“It works all right,” was all Tom said.
“Good! Then I can assure both of us a fortune and it will not in the least interfere with Parlet’s plans. He will work on the land and I will work on the sea.”
This distinction puzzled Tom and aroused his curiosity.
“You may call at my office later,” Tom said, indicating that the interview, which had got off to such a bad start, was at an end. “I will at least listen to your proposition. But I warn you that Mr. Parlet has first call on my giant magnet.”
“That’s all right. I’m sure we can work together,” said the other as he turned away, bowing formally to Mary.
“Who is that man, Tom?” asked his wife as she accompanied her husband and cousin into the house.
“I don’t know, any more than that his name is Joseph Harburg, that he is, so he says, associated in some way with Mr. Parlet and that he got me riled when he called me up a while ago and demanded, yes, actually demanded, that I sell him rights in my big magnet.”
“I don’t like him,” Mary said.
“Neither do I,” agreed Tom. “But we are not in business for our likes or dislikes, my dear, and the Swift Construction Company can always use money. Since this fellow came down off his high horse, I will at least listen to his proposition about my giant magnet.”
“So that’s what you have been devoting your talents to of late, is it?” asked the lieutenant. “Mary was saying that you have hardly been in to get your meals for the last two weeks.”
“And as for taking me out,” pouted Mrs. Swift, “we haven’t even been to the movies.”
“I have been very busy,” Tom admitted. “I’m sorry if I neglected you, my dear,” he went on, taking his wife’s hand. “It was absolutely necessary for me to concentrate on my magnet and I did so, with the result that today, for the first time, I had a successful demonstration.” He laughed as he recalled the surprise of Ned, Mr. Damon and Koku.
“Is it something new in the line of magnets?”
“Somewhat,” Tom answered, and, briefly, he described his latest invention. “But what can I do for you and Uncle Sam?” he asked.
“I don’t suppose,” began Lieutenant Nestor, “that you have had time to pay much attention to what the government has been doing, lately, in the way of submarines.”
“No, I haven’t kept in close touch with them,” Tom admitted, “though at one time I was much interested and I built a sub of my own that did good work. I know marvelous improvements have been made since I built mine.”
“Yes, indeed. Well, to sum it up, the newest and largest of Uncle Sam’s submarines was recently launched. She is the S.V.J. 13 and I am lucky enough to have been assigned to her.”
“I should call thirteen unlucky,” interposed Mary.
“We don’t think of such things in the navy, though old sailors might,” her cousin said. “At any rate the S.V.J. 13, which is more a symbol of type than a name, has had her first trials and she behaved beautifully, diving deep and coming up easily. But we have had trouble with our under-sea telephone service. You know, besides surface and submerged dot and dash wireless, that we have a system by which we can communicate through the telephone with other subs and other ships in our unit while we are on the bottom or surface. This is of value in war time, in maneuvers, and, most of all, in case of an accident to us—if we should be submerged and unable to rise.”
“Oh, that would be dreadful—trapped at the bottom of the sea!” murmured Mary.
“We don’t expect that to happen,” went on the lieutenant with a smile. “The S.V.J. 13 is equipped with all the latest devices and we have means of escaping to the surface in most emergencies. However, we might be trapped and then we would want to communicate with sister subs or other ships to direct a rescue. Unfortunately our under-sea ’phone seems to be faulty. I have been working on it—having made that a special study when at Annapolis, but I seem to have struck a snag. Not one of our other officers or mechanics has been any more successful than I in solving the problem. Then I happened to remember, Mr. Swift, that you had married my cousin, and that she once said you had a wireless telephone invention, a photo-telephone and several other communicating devices, so I decided to come and ask you to look our plant over and tell us what is wrong. Will you do it?”
Tom seemed to hesitate for a moment, but only for a moment. His wife and her cousin knew of what he was thinking—his giant magnet and the proposition Harburg was to make to offset the plans of Parlet. Then Tom Swift spoke and said:
“Of course I’ll help you. Where is the submarine now?”
“At Harwich,” was the answer, the lieutenant naming the nearest seaport to Shopton. It was not a seaport in the real meaning of the word, but a naval base up a large river that emptied into the sea, and deep enough for big vessels. It was about a day’s journey from Shopton. “If you could pay us a visit, we’d be delighted to entertain you and give you a trip under water. The sub has not yet been officially accepted by the navy. She is, as yet, in the experimental stage. We want everything perfect before we take her over. Will you come?”
“Yes,” Tom promised, “I will. Give me a few days to settle this new matter that has come up in regard to my magnet, and I’ll see what I can do.”
“Fine!” cried the officer. “That takes a load off my mind. I’ll send a wire to the commander.”
“Then settle down and visit,” begged Mary. “I’ve heard nothing but technical talk since you arrived.”
“I’m afraid that’s so,” agreed Tom. “If you’ll excuse me, while I go back to the shop and lock up, I’ll be with you.”
A little later, having told Ned of the new developments, and having locked away his latest invention, posting Koku on guard, Tom Swift and his wife entertained her cousin.
It was two days after this, when the lieutenant had departed to rejoin his ship, that Tom was busy planning to make the first of the regular sized giant magnets, that Koku came in to announce:
“Bad mans to see you, Master.”
“Bad man?” queried Tom wonderingly.
“Yes. Bad mans Koku chase away much times,” and the giant so graphically described Harburg that Tom had no difficulty in recognizing his former visitor.
“Oh, well, let him come in,” said the inventor.
“You want Koku chase um, Koku chase,” offered the giant eagerly.
“No, you needn’t run him off the premises just yet,” Tom said with a laugh.
Thereupon Harburg came in, his manner quite different from his first attitude when he was at Tom’s house.
“Look here, Mr. Swift,” began the caller brusquely, “I’m a man of few words. I’ll put what I have to say in a little space. You have invented a powerful magnet. I need just such a piece of apparatus in my business. I’m willing to guarantee you one hundred thousand dollars if you will sell me a quarter interest in the invention. You may retain control, only let me have the under-sea rights.”
“The under-sea rights!” exclaimed Tom. “Why, I hadn’t thought of using my magnet in water work. In fact, it isn’t constructed for that.”
“Well, I have no doubt you can make it do that work if you want to. It is vital for me to have the use of your magnet. Come! What do you say—a hundred thousand dollars for a fourth interest?”
Before Tom could reply the door was pushed open and another man rushed in.
“Don’t listen to him, Mr. Swift!” he cried, the inventor recognizing the intruder as Parlet. “I have the first call on your giant magnet and I offer you two hundred thousand dollars for the exclusive rights in my business. Don’t listen to him!”
Tom gazed at the rival bidders wonderingly.
