TOM SWIFT AND HIS AIRLINE EXPRESS _or_ From Ocean to Ocean by Daylight _by_ VICTOR APPLETON W H I T M A N P U B L I S H I N G C O . Racine, Wis. Poughkeepsie, N. Y. COPYRIGHT, 1926, BY GROSSET & DUNLAP, INC. NEW YORK, N. Y. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Printed in U. S. A. CONTENTS I. SOMETHING QUEER II. WAITING IN THE DARK III. MASKED MEN IV. A NIGHT OF WORRY V. A CRASH VI. AGAIN A PRISONER VII. THE PLOT VIII. MR. DAMON’S NEWS IX. KOKU’S ALARM X. TOM’S PLIGHT XI. THE EXPLOSION XII. A DANGEROUS SEARCH XIII. AN OMINOUS MESSAGE XIV. THE AIRLINE EXPRESS XV. A TRIAL FLIGHT XVI. JASON JACKS XVII. THE AIRLINE STARTS XVIII. CHICAGO XIX. DENVER XX. A MOUNTAIN STORM XXI. THE GOLDEN GATE XXII. KENNY BREAKS DOWN XXIII. ANOTHER CAPTURE XXIV. TROUBLES AND WORRIES XXV. A GLORIOUS FINISH Tom Swift and His Airline Express CHAPTER I SOMETHING QUEER “Ours is sure a great plant!” murmured Tom Swift to himself, with justifiable pride. “It would be a credit to anybody. No wonder dad loves it, and so do I. Yes, it sure is a great plant! We’ve had our troubles—our ups and downs—and our enemies have tried their hardest to wipe it out.” Darkness was slowly gathering over the landscape, shrouding in velvety black the trees which were faintly stirring in the summer breeze. Tom, following an old-time cowpath across the green meadow on his way home from town, topped a little rise and caught a glimpse of the high board fence surrounding the Swift Construction Company’s plant which he and his father had built up after many years of hard work. Tom paused for a moment to trace, in the fast-gathering shadows of the night, the outlines of the various buildings—the foundry, the wood-working mill, the electrical shop, the hangars where many types of aircraft were housed. From some of the tall chimneys faint clouds of smoke arose, for certain of the industries carried on by the Swift Construction Company required that furnaces be kept going day and night.