While he is settling the differences between his faithful old
black servant and Koku, the giant, I will take the opportunity of
telling my new readers something about Tom Swift.

Those who are familiar with the previous books of this series
may skip this part. But it will give my new audience a better
insight into this story if they will bear with me a moment and
peruse these few lines.

As related in the first book, "Tom Swift and His Motor Cycle,"
the hero seemed born an inventive genius. It was this inventive
faculty which enabled him to take the motor cycle that tried to
climb a tree with Mr. Wakefield Damon on it and make the wreck
into a serviceable bit of mechanism. Thus Tom became acquainted
with Mr. Damon, who among other eccentricities, was always
"blessing" something personal.

Tom Swift lived in the city of Shopton with his father and
their faithful housekeeper, Mrs. Baggert. It was so named because
the Swift shops were an important industry there. Tom's father,
as well as Tom himself, was an inventor of note, and employed
many men in building machines of various kinds. During the Great
War the services of Tom and his father had been dedicated to the
government.

There are a number of books dealing with Tom's activities, the
list of titles of which may be found at the beginning of this
volume.

Sufficient to say here, that Tom invented and operated motor