or
The Picture That Saved A Fortune
by Victor Appleton
I A Man On The Roof
II Bad News
III Tom's Failure
IV Run Down
V Sharp Words
VI A Warning
VII Soft Words
VIII Tom Is Baffled
IX A Gleam Of Hope
X Midnight Visitors
XI The Airship Is Taken
XII A Strange Disappearance
XIII The Telephone Picture
XIV Making Improvements
XV The Airship Clew
XVI Success
XVII The Mysterious Message
XVIII Another Call
XIX The Buzzing Sound
XX Setting The Trap
XXI The Photo Telephone
XXII The Escape
XXIII On The Trail
XXIV The Lonely House
XXV The Airship Capture
"Tom, I don't believe it can be done!"
"But, Dad, I'm sure it can!"
Tom Swift looked over at his father, who was seated in an easychair in the library. The elderly gentleman--his hair was quitewhite now--slowly shook his head, as he murmured again:
"It can't be done, Tom! It can't be done! I admit that you've madea lot of wonderful things--things I never dreamed of--but this istoo much. To transmit pictures over a telephone wire, so thatpersons cannot only see to whom they are talking, as well as hearthem--well, to be frank with you, Tom, I should be sorry to seeyou waste your time trying to invent such a thing."
"I don't agree with you. Not only do I think it can be done, butI'm going to do it. In fact, I've already started on it. As forwasting my time, well, I haven't anything in particular to do, nowthat my giant cannon has been perfected, so I might as well beworking on my new photo telephone instead of sitting around idle."
"Yes, Tom, I agree with you there," said Mr. Swift. "Sittingaround idle isn't good for anyone--man or boy, young or old. Sodon't think I'm finding fault because you're busy."
"It's only that I don't want to see you throw away your efforts,only to be disappointed in the end. It can't be done, Tom, itcan't be done," and the aged inventor shook his head in pityingdoubt.
Tom only smiled confidently, and went on:
"Well, Dad, all you'll have to do will be to wait and see. Itisn't going to be easy--I grant that. In fact, I've run up againstmore snags, the little way I've gone so far, than I like to admit.But I'm going to stick at it, and before this year is out I'llguarantee, Father, that you can be at one end of the telephonewire, talking to me, at the other, and I'll see you and you'll seeme--if not as plainly as we see each other now, at least plainlyenough to make sure of each other."
Mr. Swift chuckled silently, gradually breaking into a louderlaugh. Instead of being angry, Tom only regarded his father withan indulgent smile, and continued:
"All right, Da