''Tom Swift and His Great Searchlight, or, On the Border For Uncle Sam'', is Volume 15 in the original

Tom Swift Tom Swift is the main character of six series of American juvenile science fiction and adventure novels that emphasize science, invention, and technology. First published in 1910, the series totals more than 100 volumes. The character was ...

novel series published by

Grosset & Dunlap Grosset & Dunlap is a New York City-based publishing house founded in 1898. The company was purchased by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1982 and today is part of Penguin Random House through its subsidiary Penguin Group. Today, through the Penguin Gro ...

Plot summary

Tom has finally perfected one of his latest inventions, a ''noiseless airship''. This is a project Tom has been working on since the last few volumes, and now that it is finished, it appears that Tom is suddenly under scrutiny by United States border agents, who are tracking

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

operations which utilize airships to move goods out of Canada, and avoid paying

duty A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; fro, deu, did, past participle of ''devoir''; la, debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may ...

tax. Once Tom convinces the agents that he is not involved in smuggling, he is hired to help break up the operations.

Inventions and innovation

In previous volumes, but only mentioned peripherally, Tom has been working on a noiseless airship. These are basically modifications to the engine: a new muffler and ''sparking device''. Built for use in this adventure is Tom's giant searchlight, as the title of the story suggests. A device utilizing a mixed electric current, the searchlight can be seen for ''miles and miles'', and is used specifically to search for smugglers during the night.
''Tom Swift and His Great Searchlight'' e-text
at

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1912 American novels Tom Swift American young adult novels Novels set in Canada {{1910s-ya-novel-stub