A Dream of Daring (3 page)

Reading Tom’s thoughts,
Nash laughed. “Like my outfit? After all, a man’s got to buy himself a few
decent threads.”

“Is that what you were
doing in Paris when you missed the due date on the note?”

“I might’ve traveled and
shopped, and neglected a few bills, but that’s a trifle compared to what this
year’s crop’ll bring in.” Nash grinned. “Come on, Tom, you haven’t been back
long enough to remember how things work here. King Cotton pays all debts.”

“Does it?”

“When you’re at Bayou
Redbird tomorrow, do you think you could tell Jones to give me a little more
time?”

The banker seemed
distracted.

“Tom? . . . Say,
old boy . . .”

Tom gazed at the old
carriage house as if he had reached a temple. The chipped paint and worn planks
of the small building showed its neglect in favor of a newer, larger structure
nearby where the plantation’s coaches and carriages were now kept.

“Tom?”

Tom glanced at Nash, as
if suddenly remembering his existence. “Okay, I’ll talk to Jones.”

Barnwell summoned a
servant, who swung open the wide door. A grin formed on Tom’s face at the
reunion with his progeny.

Nash, Cooper, and the
senator walked into a space that was empty except for a dilapidated coach, an
old relic apparently not meriting transfer to the new location, and a strange new
device unlike anything they had ever seen. The two objects seemed to illustrate
the past and the future, but nothing of interest in the present to the men, who
looked curious but unexcited.

Tom watched them
surveying the mechanical object that was ten feet long and five feet wide.
Slowly, they walked around it, with the crunch of their steps on the dirt floor
the only sound. They bent down, cocked their heads, and peered at various parts
of the device.

The object was a
conglomerate of iron and steel, pipes and valves, gears and belts, wheels and
shafts, and levers and pedals that formed a vehicle. In the rear, it had a
steering wheel, a driver’s seat between two large cleated wheels, and a hitch
for attaching implements behind the device. On top of the frame, spanning from
the driver’s seat to the front of the vehicle, was a long metal cover that
seemed to encase the invention’s motor. In front, two smaller wheels supported
the device. Two long rods on hinges rested along either side of the body and
could be pivoted forward and hitched to a horse for hauling the device.

Tom took his top hat and
pointed it at the metal concoction as if he were presenting a royal coach to a
king. “Gentlemen, this is a motor plow. It’s actually much more than that. It’s
a traction vehicle for pulling various farm implements, or a
tractor
for
short.”

“It’s what?” asked Nash.

“It’s the
new age
,”
said Tom.

“Maybe you’d like to
explain,” said Barnwell.

With a flick of his
wrist, Tom tossed his hat on the seat of the device and faced his audience.
“This vehicle can be used for tilling and planting. But the even bigger news is
the
engine
.”

“Are you saying this
thing can pull better than a horse?” asked Cooper.

“I’m saying the horse is
doomed
.”

“Where’s the furnace and
boiler?” asked Nash.

“This is no steam
engine.”

“No horse? No steam?
Impossible!” said Cooper.

“Steam takes too long to
heat. The fire is too dangerous, the water tank is too heavy, and it’s
impractical to have to chop wood or stoke coals at every turn. Steam won’t do
at all for a quick-starting, fast moving, lighter-weight, easy-to-use vehicle
that will transform the world.” Tom spoke without boasting, as if he were just
stating facts.

“Transform the world,
eh?” Cooper was skeptical.

“Once it’s fine-tuned,
yes.”

“The world’s as it’s
always been and always will be,” jibed Nash. “No contraption can change that.”

Tom didn’t seem to hear
the remark. “This new engine is unlike any other. It’s an engine that
carries
its own power plant inside of it
.”

He patted the device as a
proud father would stroke a newborn. He didn’t notice that the others received
his news with blank faces.

“The engine uses an
entirely new principle of power,” explained Tom. “It works on
oil
, on
the exquisitely timed and orchestrated explosion of petroleum fuel within the
engine.” His prior boredom with the reception had vanished from his face. “This
explosion is harnessed so that the energy produced from it is used to drive the
wheels. Gentlemen, this is no steam engine. It’s
far
more useful than
steam could ever be.”

“And the engine’s in
there?” Cooper pointed to the covered area in front of the driver’s seat.

“In there.” Tom nodded.

“Let’s see,” said
Barnwell.

Tom opened a small black
box by the driver’s seat and reached underneath various papers to grab a few
tools. He lifted the engine cover from its grooves and, with Barnwell’s help,
removed the bulky casement to reveal the workings.

The men stared quietly,
their faces curious as the enthusiastic inventor explained his creation.

“You see the engine block
here, with two cylindrical chambers in it. The explosions occur inside the
chambers in a very carefully timed sequence. First, a combustible fuel—I use
kerosene—flows into a chamber, then the fuel is compressed, then an electrical
spark ignites it and expands it, and finally the spent fuel leaves the chamber,
and the cycle begins again. These four phases that occur in each cylinder—the
introduction of the fuel, its compression, its explosion, and its removal—drive
a piston in the chamber to move up and down. The piston is connected to a
crankshaft, which is connected to the wheels.” Tom pointed to the parts as he
spoke. The others came closer, stretching their necks to see.

“And that, gentlemen, is
the whole of it. A lightning-quick stream of fuel combustions and exhausts in
the chambers cause the changes in pressure and volume that drive the pistons up
and down, which in turn move the wheels of an incredibly powerful vehicle. This
is a new kind of power for a new age!”

His audience was
speechless, their eyes wary. Tom didn’t seem to notice or care about their
reactions. He continued, engrossed in his subject.

“This is the tank that
holds the kerosene.” He pointed to a long cylindrical vessel with a cap. “And
here’s another tank.” He pointed to a smaller vessel. “It holds gasoline.”

“What’s that?” asked
Nash.

“A by-product in the
petroleum mixture that’s more flammable than kerosene. Some inventors have
written about its superior ignition properties, which can be used for starting
this type of engine, so I obtained some and tried it in my device.”

The remark about a useful
petroleum product called gasoline left the men’s faces blank.

“And here’s the ignition
crank.” He bent down and pointed to a handle below the engine, between the
front wheels. “The crank triggers an electrical spark that ignites the gasoline
and starts the engine.” He sprang up and walked to the vehicle’s cab. “These
levers and pedals by the driver regulate the amount of fuel and air going into
the engine. They also get the device in gear, control the speed and direction,
and put the tractor in neutral to stop the motor. The wheel is used for
steering, like the reins on a horse.”

Tom finished his
description and smiled proudly. “That’s the basic idea of the self-propelled
personal vehicle. I’ve plowed and harrowed fields with it on my own property.”
He lifted the papers in the black box by the driver. “These are diagrams and
instructions that show how to start the engine and operate the vehicle,” he
said, waving the papers in his hand. “Anyone can do it.” He flipped through the
papers. “And these drawings illustrate the tractor performing field jobs with
various attachments, from plowing to harrowing to seeding to cultivating. I
also have calculations showing the incredible productive output of the machine
over manual labor.” He dropped the papers and tools back in the small
compartment, then faced his puzzled audience. “This vehicle is powerful beyond
imagination. With one small, inexpensive tank of fuel, a mere few gallons, a
man can till acres.”

Cooper cast a doubtful
look at Tom, as if the young man in formal clothes seemed too refined to have
created the imposing mechanical object before them. “You fabricated this thing
yourself?”

“I did. I conceived the
project when I studied engineering in college, and I worked on it while I had a
job designing and repairing motors for a large mill company in Pennsylvania.
When I was with the mill, I must’ve seen every kind of engine ever made.”

And where’d you see this
one?” asked Barnwell.

“Nowhere.”

“Nowhere?”

“There are experiments
going on here and in Europe, but no one’s ever put a portable engine like this
to wide-scale practical use before.”

“And
you
will?”
asked Nash in disbelief.

“I hope to.”

“What’s this contest
you’re entering?” asked Cooper.

“The North has investment
money, and I need more of it than my bank can safely risk. I need it for
research, design, manufacturing, sales. You see, getting
all
the engine
parts to work, and work in harmony—getting the right grade of fuel, the right
electrical sparking mechanism to ignite the fuel, the right mix of air with the
fuel for combustion, the right valves to let the fuel in and out of the
chambers, the right timing mechanism for sequencing the explosions, the right
steering levers and pedals for the driver’s easy use, the right cooling system
to prevent overheating, the right lubricating system to keep the parts running
smoothly—the right
everything
—is daunting. But it’ll be done,” Tom said
confidently. “This is just the beginning.”

The men looked astonished
as the young inventor expended his own sizable energy, waving his hands, moving
around the device, and pointing to parts as he made his points.

“I need to hire skilled
machinists and open a factory to design and make the parts. It’ll take years to
develop a product that will be reliable, safe, simple, powerful, durable, and
affordable. But this is the start, right here. My tractor works. It shows what
can be done. With design improvements it’ll be ready to manufacture and sell
all over the country—and the world.” Tom gazed at the conglomerate of metal as
if it were gold. “The first internal-combustion tractor!”

The men exchanged
questioning glances.

“The contest is for the
best new invention. It’s an event that draws investors from all over the country.
They hover around, talk to the inventors, study the entries. I hope to find
supporters.”

“All this trouble for a
plow? Why bother? Why not just keep using horses?” queried Nash.

“It’s not just a plow.
It’s the
new age
.”

“Has anyone actually seen
this thing work?” asked Nash.

“Not I,” said the
senator. “I hauled it here by horse.”

“I’ve been working on
this in private, in isolated fields on my land where nobody goes, not even my
field hands.”

“Let’s get it outside and
see how it works,” urged Nash. “
If
it works.”

Tom shook his head.
“Today’s affair is hardly the right occasion. Besides, it has no brake yet, and
the engine’s roar scares horses and startles people that aren’t used to the
sound. I need to show it to you in a level field away from the house. I’ll
demonstrate it when I get back.”

“Do you have a patent on
this contraption?” asked Cooper.

“I was making changes
constantly, until the final days before this trip, so I had to wait till I had
some stability in the design and a workable prototype. Now, I’m ready to
apply.”

“Do you really think
anyone will invest in this thing?” asked Barnwell.

“Absolutely. Why, the
implications are tremendous! First, there’s the engine. A compact, powerful,
self-propelled engine that runs on cheap fuel—the perfect replacement for the
horse!”

The others looked
dubious.

“It could operate
horseless carriages and motored wagons of every kind at a fraction of the
expense and trouble we have now. It could be used not only on the farm but also
in the city—for transportation, deliveries, hauling. It could eliminate the
costly, time-consuming upkeep of draft animals. And farmers could redirect the
acreage they use for grazing to produce cash crops instead.

“The same kind of engine
could power boats and trains. It could be used wherever steam or animals are
used, but far more conveniently and less expensively.” Tom’s eyes widened as if
the vision he saw were bursting from them. “Gentlemen, the internally powered
engine will completely change the way we view transportation and farming.”

The men listened, their
puzzled faces shifting from the device to its creator. They stared in amazement
at a facet they had never seen of the quiet young man who had joined their
circle eighteen months ago.

“Now, if we apply this
engine to farming in the form of a tractor, like the one I have here, the
possibilities are vast,” said Tom. “Hitch a plow to the vehicle, and it’ll turn
the soil. Hitch a harrow, and it’ll break up and smooth the surface. Hitch a
disc that’ll make a ridge in the soil for a hopper to gravity-drop seed into,
followed by a roller to smooth the soil over the planting, and it’ll plant seed
in rows.”

As he spoke, Tom moved to
the rear of the device, kneeling and gesturing to show the placement of the
tools he envisioned.

“If you space the wheels
to rest between planting rows and keep the engine high off the ground, a
tractor like this could straddle the growing plants and turn the soil. Weeding
and cultivating could be done mechanically.”