Page:Tom Swift in Captivity.djvu/192

182 and from the manner in which the royal brothers writhed and howled Tom judged that the experiment was a success.

"With all your strength you can not let go until I move my finger," the young inventor explained, and it was so. Even the skeptical giants agreed on that.

"Now I shall show you that I am stronger than you!" exclaimed Tom, and though the giants smiled increduously so it was, for the magnet trick worked as well as before. There were murmurs of surprise from the two immense brothers, and they talked rapidly together.

"I will now show you that I can call the lightning from the sky to do my bidding," went on Tom. "Is that possible to any of you giants?"

"Never! Never! No man can do it!" cried Tola and Koku together.

"Then watch me!" invited Tom. "Is there an empty hut near here?" he asked. "One that it will do no harm to destroy?"

Tola pointed to one visible from the window of the prison of our friends.

"Then take this little ball, with the string attached to it, and place it in the hut," went on Tom. "Then flee for your lives, for standing from here, I shall call the lightning down, and you shall see the hut destroyed."