XXIV A STRANGE DISCOVERY

XXV THE LIGHT OF DAY




TOM SWIFT AMONG THE FIRE FIGHTERS



CHAPTER I

A BAD PLACE FOR A FIRE


"IMPOSSIBLE, Ned! It can't be as much as that!"

"Well, you can prove the additions yourself, Tom, on one of the
adding machines. I've been over 'em twice, and get the same
result each time. There are the figures. They say figures don't
lie, though it doesn't follow that the opposite is true, for
those who do not stick closely to the truth do, sometimes,
figure. But there you have it; your financial statement for the
year," and Ned Newton, business manager for Tom Swift, the
talented young inventor, shoved a mass of papers across the table
to his friend and chum, as well as employer.

"It doesn't seem possible, Ned, that we have made as much as
that this past year. And this, as I understand it, doesn't