“All ready, Ned?” Tom asked over the private telephone.
“All set,” was the answer.
“Then get going!” ordered Tom in a low voice.
He turned the switch for the final test, knowing that a great deal depended on it. Those three million dollars were sorely needed to save the Swift fortunes.
CHAPTER XXV
A BRIGHT FUTURE
There was a hissing, buzzing sound in the studio where, on an improvised stage, Ned, Mr. Damon, Mary Nestor and Helen Morton were going through a hastily sketched act.
Tom Swift had so improved his lighting arrangements, by using screen filters, that there was no restriction as to the color of the garments worn by the performers. The girls’ dresses were particularly gay and of many hues, for Tom wanted a bright picture on the screen. Mr. Damon had attired himself as a clown while Ned was a pirate with a red handkerchief on his head.
“Oh, a pirate’s life for me!” sang Ned, and so on with the rest of the song while the girls and Mr. Damon joined in.