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 PYTHON PROGRAMMING

3 BOOKS IN 1: ULTIMATE BEGINNER’S, INTERMEDIATE &

ADVANCED GUIDE TO LEARN PYTHON STEP BY STEP
RYAN TURNER
 C O NT E NT S

Python Programming: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Learn Python Step by Step
Introduction
1. What is Python Machine Learning?
2. How to Start Learning Python
3. Review of Data Samples and Visualization of Data
4. How to Create a Dataset with Visualization
5. Making Predictions with Algorithms
6. Examples of Coding
7. Decision Tree
8. Neural Networks
9. Bringing it All Together
Conclusion
Python Programming: The Ultimate Intermediate Guide to Learn Python Step by Step
Introduction
1. What Is Machine Learning
2. Supervised Machine Learning
3. Unsupervised Machine Learning
4. The Basics of Working with Python
5. Setting up Your Python Environment
6. Data Preprocessing with Machine Learning
7. Working with Linear Regression in Machine Learning
8. Using a Decision Tree for Regression
9. Random Forest for Regression
10. Working with a Support Vector Regression
11. What is Naive Bayes and How Does It Work with Machine Learning
12. K-Nearest Neighbors Algorithm for Classification
Conclusion
Python Programming: The Ultimate Expert Guide to Learn Python Step-by-Step
Introduction
1. Working with Inheritances in Python
2. Arguments in Python
3. Namespace and Python
4. Working with Iterators in Python and What These Mean
5. Exception Handling and How to Create a Unique Code with Them
6. The Python Generators
7. What are Itertools in the Python Language
8. What are Closures in Python and Why are they so Important
9. Working with Regular Expressions
10. What are the Conditional Statements and When Will I Need to Use Them?
11. Do I Need to Learn Assert Handling in This Language
12. How to Work with Loops in Your Python Code
13. When to Use User-Defined Functions in Your Code
14. Working with Memoization in Python
Conclusion
Copyright 2018 by James C. Anderson - All rights reserved.
The following eBook is reproduced below with the goal of providing information that is as
accurate and reliable as possible. Regardless, purchasing this eBook can be seen as consent to the
fact that both the publisher and the author of this book are in no way experts on the topics
discussed within and that any recommendations or suggestions that are made herein are for
entertainment purposes only. Professionals should be consulted as needed prior to undertaking
any of the action endorsed herein.
This declaration is deemed fair and valid by both the American Bar Association and the
Committee of Publishers Association and is legally binding throughout the United States.
Furthermore, the transmission, duplication or reproduction of any of the following work
including specific information will be considered an illegal act irrespective of if it is done
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The information in the following pages is broadly considered to be a truthful and accurate
account of facts, and as such any inattention, use or misuse of the information in question by the
reader will render any resulting actions solely under their purview. There are no scenarios in
which the publisher or the original author of this work can be in any fashion deemed liable for
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trademark holder.
 PYTHON PROGRAMMING: THE
ULTIMATE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO
LEARN PYTHON STEP BY STEP
 I NT R OD UC T I ON

Congratulations on downloading Python Beginners Guide: Machine

Learning for Newbies, and thank you for doing so.
In this Python Beginner’s Guide, you’re about to learn...

The Most Vital Basics of Python programming. Rapidly get the

dialect and begin applying the ideas to any code that you
compose.
The Useful features of Python for Beginners—including some
ideas you can apply to in real-world situations and even other
programs.
Different mechanics of Python programming: control stream,
factors, records/lexicons, and classes—and why taking in these
center standards are essential to Python achievement
Protest arranged programming, its impact on present-day
scripting languages, and why it makes a difference.

This guide has been composed specifically for Newbies and Beginners.
You will be taken through each step of your very first program, and we
will explain each portion of the script as you test and analyze the data.
Machine learning is defined as a subset of something called artificial
intelligence (AI). The ultimate goal of machine learning is to first
comprehend the structure of the presented data and align that data into
certain models that can then be understood and used by anyone.
Despite the fact that machine learning is a department in the computer
science field, it truly is different from normal data processing methods.
In common computing programs, formulas are groups of individually
programmed orders that are used by computers to determine outcomes and
solve problems. Instead, machine learning formulas allow computers to
focus only on data that is inputted and use proven stat analysis in order to
deliver correct values that fall within a certain probability. What this
means is that computers have the ability to break down simple data
models which enables it to automate routine decision-making steps based
on the specific data that was inputted.
Any innovation client today has profited from machine learning. Facial
acknowledgment innovation enables internet based life stages to enable
clients to tag and offer photographs of companions. Optical character
acknowledgment (OCR) innovation changes over pictures of content into
portable kind. Proposal motors, controlled by machine learning,
recommend what motion pictures or TV programs to watch next in view of
client inclinations. Self-driving autos that depend on machine learning on
how to explore may soon be accessible to shoppers.
Machine learning is a ceaselessly growing field. Along these lines, there
are a few things to remember as you work with machine learning
philosophies, or break down the effect of machine learning forms.
In this book, we'll look at the normal machine learning strategies for
managed and unsupervised learning, the basic algorithmic methodologies
including the k-closest neighbor calculation, specific decision tree
learning, and deeply impactful techniques. We will also investigate which
programming is most used in machine learning, giving you a portion of
the positive and negative qualities. Moreover, we'll talk about some
important biases that are propagated by machine learning calculations, and
consider what can be done to avoid biases affecting your algorithm
building.
There are plenty of books on this subject on the market. Thanks for
choosing this one! Every effort was made to ensure it’s full of useful
information as possible, please enjoy!
1
 WH AT I S PY T H O N MAC H I NE LE AR NI NG ?

WH AT I S PY T H O N?

P ython is an awesome decision on machine learning for a few

reasons. Most importantly, it's a basic dialect at first glance.
Regardless of whether you're not acquainted with Python, getting
up to speed is snappy in the event that you at any point have utilized some
other dialect with C-like grammar.
Second, Python has an incredible network which results in great
documentation and inviting and extensive answers in StackOverflow
(central!).
Third, coming from the colossal network, there are a lot of valuable
libraries for Python (both as "batteries included" an outsider), which take
care of essentially any issue that you can have (counting machine
learning).
Wait I thought this machine language was slow?
Unfortunately, it is a very valid question that deserves an answer. Indeed,
Python is not at all the fastest language on the planet.
However, here's the caveat: libraries can and do offload the costly
computations to the substantially more performant (yet much harder to
use) C and C++ are prime examples. There's NumPy, which is a library for
numerical calculation. It is composed in C, and it's quick. For all intents
and purposes, each library out there that includes serious estimations
utilizes it—every one of the libraries recorded next utilize it in some
shape. On the off chance that you read NumPy, think quick.
In this way, you can influence your computer scripts to run essentially as
quick as handwriting them out in a lower level dialect. So there's truly
nothing to stress over with regards to speed and agility.
If you want to know which Python libraries you should check out. Try
some of these.
“Scikit-learn”
Do you need something that completely addresses everything from testing
and training models to engineering techniques?
Then scikit-learn is your best solution. This incredible bit of free
programming gives each device important to machine learning and
information mining. It's the true standard library for machine learning in
Python; suggested for the vast majority of the 'old' ML calculations.
This library does both characterization and relapse, supporting essentially
every calculation out there (bolster vector machines, arbitrary timberland,
Bayes, you name it). It allows a simple exchanging of calculations in
which experimentation is a lot simpler. These 'more seasoned' calculations
are shockingly flexible and work extremely well in a considerable amount
of problems and case studies.
In any case, that is not all! Scikit-learn additionally does groupings, plural
dimensionalities, and so on. It's likewise exceedingly quick since it keeps
running on NumPy and SciPy.
Look at a few cases to see everything this library is prepared to do, the
instructional exercises on the website, and the need to figure out if this is a
good fit.
“NLTK”
While not a machine learning library essentially, NLTK is an
unquestionable requirement when working with regular computer
language. It is bundled with a heap of Datasets and other rhetorical data
assets, which is invaluable for preparing certain models. Aside from the
libraries for working with content, this is great for determining capacities,
for example, characterization, tokenization, stemming, labeling, and
parsing—that's just the beginning.
The handiness of having the majority of this stuff perfectly bundled can't
be exaggerated. In case you are keen on regular computer language look at
a few of their website's instructional exercises!
“Theano”
Utilized generally in research and within the scholarly community, Theano
is the granddad of all deeply profound learning systems. Since it is written
in Python, it is firmly incorporated with NumPy. Theano enables you to
make neural systems which are essential scientific articulations with
multi-dimensional clusters. Theano handles this so you that you don't need
to stress over the real usage of the math included.
It bolsters offloading figures to a considerably speedier GPU, which is an
element that everybody underpins today, yet, back when they presented it,
this wasn't the situation. The library is extremely developed now and
boasts an extensive variety of activities, which is extraordinary with
regards to contrasting it and other comparative libraries.
The greatest grievance out there about Theano is the API might be
cumbersome for a few, making the library difficult to use for beginning
learners. In any case, there are tools that relieve the agony and makes
working with Theano pretty straightforward, for example, try using Keras,
or Blocks, and even Lasagne.
“TensorFlow”
The geniuses over at Google made TensorFlow for inside use in machine
learning applications and publicly released it in late 2015. They needed
something that could supplant their more established, non-open source
machine learning structure, DistBelief. It wasn't sufficiently adaptable and
too firmly ingrained into their foundation. It was to be imparted to
different analysts around the globe.
Thus, TensorFlow was made. Despite their slip-ups in the past, many view
this library as a much-needed change over Theano, asserting greater
adaptability and more instinctive API. Another great benefit is it can be
utilized to create new conditions, supporting tremendous amounts of new
GPUs for training and learning purposes. While it doesn't bolster as wide a
scope of functionality like Theano, it has better computational diagram
representations.
TensorFlow is exceptionally famous these days. In fact, if you are familiar
with every single library on this list, you can agree that there has been a
Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
fighting me, and, like large bodies, they move slowly. It will be all the
better for the success of my plans if they don’t bite too quickly.”
“Then you’re not quite ready for them?”
“Not quite, but I shall be in a day or so. Meanwhile, let the ad run.
They’ve seen it and are a bit puzzled over what course to take, I’m
sure.”
“Well, I’ll leave it to you,” Ned remarked. “I’ve got my own
troubles, Tom.”
“You mean about finances?”
“Yes. We’re sailing pretty close to the wind. You’ve sunk much
money in these talking pictures.”
“I realized that when you showed me the figures. But, as I said,
it’s sink or swim now, and I think we’ll swim after I get through with
these fellows who are hounding me.”
It was three days after this that Ned, coming away from a bank
the president of which had suggested that some of the Swift loan
had better be reduced soon, stopped in at the Graphic office. He
presented the slip calling for any replies that might have been
received for Mr. Quick of Box 123, and, somewhat to his surprise, he
was handed an envelope. The paper was of good quality, though
perfectly plain, and the address was neatly printed.
“They’re taking no chances of handwriting being traced,”
remarked Ned, as he hurried back to the laboratory with the missive.
“This may mean business, Tom,” he said to his chum, “or it may
be a suggestion from some other paper that you would do well to put
the ad in their columns. That’s a newspaper trick, you know.”
“I know it is,” assented the young inventor. “However, this may
mean business.” He tore the envelope open and he had no sooner
scanned the few lines on a single sheet of paper within than he
cried: “Hurray!”
“Is it from your enemies?” asked Ned.
“I think it is. Read it!”
Ned let his eyes rove over this:
 “If Mr. Quick will present himself at a certain house on
Rattlesnake Island he will learn something to his advantage. Mr.
Quick must present himself absolutely alone. If there is any attempt
at trickery all negotiations will be called off and vigorous retaliatory
measures at once undertaken. Come this midnight.”
“Are you going, Tom?” asked Ned.
“I certainly am!”
“Alone—and to Rattlesnake Island where we were held
prisoners?” cried Ned.
“Why not? They won’t try any trick like that again. They’ll know I
wouldn’t walk into a trap like that without leaving word where I am
bound for and my non-appearance in due time would mean a
search. They aren’t such fools as that. I’ll go and see what they have
to say. I’ll be there when the clock strikes twelve.”
“They aren’t giving you much time for preparation. It’s after two
o’clock now.”
“It’s all the time I need. I’ve been anticipating this and I’m ready.
Now, Ned, I’ll let you into some of my secrets that I’ve been holding
out on you.”
Thereupon Tom told Ned something which made that young man
open his eyes. But even at the end, when the plans were all detailed,
the business manager was a bit doubtful.
“It’s risky, Tom,” he said. “I’m afraid to have you go there alone to
meet these fellows.”
“There’s no danger, I tell you. I’m not afraid. My plans have been
too carefully made to permit of failure.”
But Ned’s face was serious, and when Mr. Swift heard of what his
son proposed to do he added his appeals to the young inventor,
asking him to try some other and less risky method.
“This is the only way,” declared Tom. “I’m going to that midnight
meeting.”
When the time came, Tom Swift set off in one of his motorboats
alone, heading across Lake Carlopa in the darkness, guiding his
craft toward the sinister black shape of Rattlesnake Island.
 CHAPTER XX
MASKED MEN
Tom Swift sat at the wheel of his craft, his hands on the spokes
and his eyes gazing ahead through the darkness. He had set a
straight course for Rattlesnake Island and wondered what would
happen after he arrived. In spite of his bold words to Ned Newton,
the young inventor was a little apprehensive, as well he might be.
He scanned the water on either side of him for a possible sight of
other craft that might be heading in the same direction. But though in
the distance he saw and heard other motorboats, none seemed to
be laying a course for Rattlesnake Island.
“I wonder if they’ll be there—and on time,” mused Tom. He did
not whisper, even to the unoccupied darkness about him, any
designation of those he had in mind. He merely said: “I wonder if
they’ll be there.”
It was not a long run, in Tom’s speedy craft, to the sinister, dark
island where he and Ned had lately been prisoners, and almost
before he had finished going over in his mind the various
occurrences that had taken place since he had begun working on his
talking-picture machine, the young inventor found himself
approaching the place.
“Wonder if I’m to land at the dock where Snogg and Janner tied
up the Turtle. Or am I to circle the island until I get a sign?” mused
Tom. “From the fact that they have named as a rendezvous the old
house, I should think it would be at the same dock where Ned and I
saw those rascals working on their boat the time we gave them the
slip. Think I’ll try there first, anyhow.”
Tom was a good navigator, and it did not take him long to get his
bearings and head for the dock in question. As he approached it, he
saw a dim light on it and this convinced him that he was to tie up
there. Slowing his boat to half speed, for he was not sure about the
state of water, and thinking there might be rocks, the young man
stood up and strained his eyes to pierce the gloom. The single
lantern on the end of the dock gave illumination enough to make
certain that the way was clear, as far as obstructions in the water
were concerned.
“Well, here I go—for better or for worse,” said Tom grimly to
himself as he shut off power and allowed his craft to glide up to the
stringpiece. The dock was rather a ruin, but he found a ring in a
beam and made his rope fast there.
Then, before getting out of the boat, Tom looked sharply about as
well as he could by such illumination as a smoking lantern gave.
There was no sight nor sound of any other visitor to Rattlesnake
Island. Tom seemed to be the only one there. Yet he knew there
were others.
“I suppose I’m to go right up and knock at the front door,” and
Tom chuckled a little. “They don’t seem to have appointed a
reception committee with a brass band. Guess those fellows don’t do
business that way. Well, might as well get started.”
Before getting out of his boat, however, he made sure that the
mooring rope was tied in such a way that, if need be, he could make
a running jump into the craft, pull the knot out with one tug of the free
end and so be loosed from the dock. Also he made certain that his
motor would start at once. It was a powerful and speedy craft in
which Tom had come to the island—one that would start with a throw
of a switch, not needing any laborious cranking.
“I might want to get away in a hurry,” he had reasoned.
Thus having taken all precautions to serve him in case of
emergency, Tom clambered up on the dock and started for the shore
end.
As he left the circle of friendly rays from the lantern, he could not
prevent a slight feeling of uneasiness creeping over him. After all, it
was a risky thing that he was doing—trusting himself alone to
unknown men who had every motive for wishing him out of the way
or, if not exactly out of the way, at least prevented from pursuing his
activities in certain directions.
 “But I think I’m going to beat them at their own game,” mused
Tom, as he walked along.
His feet made ghostly echoes on the rattling planks of the old
dock, and, now and then, he paused to ascertain if any one else in
the neighborhood were stirring. However, he appeared to be the only
one.
“Let’s see,” mused the young inventor as he was about to step off
the dock to the shore. “As I remember it, the dock was to the east of
the house when Ned and I looked out of the window and saw the
three men. So I must turn right now.”
Accordingly he swung in that direction as he started up a path
that was partly overgrown with weeds. It was quite dark, once he had
left the glow of the dock lantern, and Tom was glad he had brought a
pocket flashlight with him.
Switching this on, he let the bright rays fall in front of him to guide
his steps so he would not get off the path. For he had in mind the
sinister name of the island to which he was paying a midnight visit.
“They say the rattlesnakes are all gone,” mused Tom, as he kept
as nearly as he could to the middle of the path, “but I’m taking no
chances of stepping on one. I don’t want to tread on a tail and be
bitten. Even if their bite isn’t always deadly, it’s bad enough.”
In spite of himself, Tom could not prevent a creepy feeling coming
over him at times as he walked along on the path. He almost wished
he had not selected this means of tricking the plotters. But it was too
late to turn back now. He had made his choice.
Suddenly, when he judged that he was half way to the old house,
Tom heard a noise in the bushes just ahead of him and off to the left.
For a moment he had a fear that it might be the rustle caused by the
passage of a rattlesnake through the underbrush. He flashed his
light in that direction, but instead of the beams picking up the gliding
form of a serpent they illuminated the feet and legs of a man.
Before Tom could cry out or step back, he heard another noise on
his right, and there, too, his flashlight revealed the feet and legs of
another man.
 Suddenly the four feet and four legs made a rush and Tom felt
himself caught by the arm on either side. His flashlight was knocked
from his hand, but, falling to the ground, still glowed and its rays
showed Tom that he had been caught by two Negroes.
“Let me go!” he cried, fiercely struggling to free himself. But the
black men held him fast.
Then one spoke, in rather soothing accents, saying:
“It’s all right, sir. We don’t aim to be rough with you, but we got
our orders. I’m sorry I knocked your light down. I’ll pick it up for you,”
and, stooping, he retrieved the flashlight which he gave to Tom.
“Better put it in your pocket, sir,” suggested the other Negro. “You
won’t need it where you’re going. We know the path in the dark. And
don’t be worried. We aren’t going to hurt you.”
“I’m not worried,” declared Tom boldly. “But this is an outrage! I
came here of my own free will for a conference and——”
“That’s all right, sir,” went on the first black man, still soothingly.
“You’re going to be taken to the conference. That’s what we came
down for—to meet you and show you the way.”
Tom was at once struck by the fact that the language of these
Negroes was above the average. They did not talk like poor, old
Eradicate. Rather their talk was that of the man who has seen
service in wealthy families. As this was in line with Tom’s theories
regarding the identity of the men persecuting him, he ceased to
struggle and said:
“Very well. Lead me to the men with whom I have an
appointment.”
“That’s just what we’ll do, sir,” said the man who had picked up
the flashlight. “It’s just a bit farther on.”
The Negroes seemed able to find their way in the dark, which,
Tom reflected, was more than he could have done. In a short time
they led him, gently enough, into a little clearing and there, showing
dimly in the light of the stars, was the house where Tom and Ned
had been prisoners.
If Tom had any compunctions about entering the house again he
had no time to exercise them. Nor, be it known, had he the
inclination. He was there for a purpose and intended to carry it out.
“Right this way, sir,” said one of the Negroes, letting go of Tom’s
right arm and preceding him to the front door. “They’re expecting
you.”
He knocked—whether in a signal code or not Tom was unable to
determine—and the door was opened, letting out a flood of light. The
place seemed to have been prepared for the reception of the young
inventor.
“Go straight ahead,” said the Negro who had opened the door, as
he stepped back to allow Tom to enter.
Tom walked into a hall, furnished only with a chair. One of the
three Negroes—which he could not determine—glided ahead of him,
tapped on a door at the end of the corridor, and opened it in
response to a voice that said:
“Enter!”
Tom Swift saw before him a brilliantly lighted room. Gathered
around a table in the middle were half a dozen men. Each one wore
a black mask and through the eye-holes in them Tom felt himself
being sharply scrutinized.
“You may go, Richard,” said one of the men in cultured tones to
the Negro who had opened the door.
Then the masked faces silently regarded the young inventor.
 CHAPTER XXI
A TEMPTING OFFER
“Sit down, please!”
The masked man at the head of the table—who seemed to be
the leader—thus spoke to Tom and motioned to a chair, the only one
in the room that was not occupied. Tom looked at it a bit suspiciously
at first. He knew something of trick chairs—seats that, once
occupied, gripped the sitter in arms of steel. Also this chair might be
over some trapdoor which opened into a pit or into a tunnel that led
to the lake.
But Tom reflected that if the men had contemplated treachery
they could have exercised their will upon him when he first landed on
the island. They need not have waited until now.
The chair seemed an ordinary one, and as the leader motioned
toward it another of the masked men pulled it slightly forward.
Clearly it had no mechanism connected with it.
“Well, I’m here,” said Tom, as he settled back in the chair, noting
that it felt all right.
“So we see, and we are glad of this chance to do business with
you,” remarked one, who, for want of a better designation at present,
shall be denominated Mr. X. “It did not occur to us,” he went on in
cultured tones, “that you would care for this method of arriving at a
settlement. But, since you have, it appears to be a very good one.
We are ready to do business with you.”
Tom was at once impressed by something that was very evident.
These were substantial business men—men of some culture and
presumably position in the world—though they did stoop to
desperate means to gain their ends. They were of an entirely
different class from Snogg and Janner who had kidnapped Tom and
Ned. Nor were they like Greenbaum, though from two or three little
signs Tom had an idea that some of these men were very wealthy.
“Yes, I am here,” went on Tom, holding himself well in hand and
gazing from one masked face to the other. “And I am glad to hear
that you are ready to talk business. But there is one objection.”
“What is it, Mr. Swift?” asked Mr. X courteously. “If you object to
the method of meeting us, remember it was your own suggestion.”
“I am not complaining of the place of meeting nor the manner in
which I was received,” stated Tom. “But I’m not used to doing
business in the dark.”
“In the dark?” wonderingly exclaimed a heavy-set man on the left
of Mr. X. “Why, it’s light here. Should we spend a lot more money in
having more electricity? No!”
“I was not referring to the actual lighting of the place,” returned
Tom, with a little smile. “It’s bright enough in one way. But when I
said I was not in the habit of doing business in the dark, I referred to
your masks. I like to see to whom I am talking.”
“Oh, so he means that!” exclaimed the heavy man.
“I am sorry, Mr. Swift,” put in Mr. X, who seemed affable enough.
“But you will realize that at present we must, for obvious reasons,
remain unknown to you. Perhaps you would not recognize us if we
laid aside our masks, but that we cannot do. There are too many
interests, aside from our own, involved in this to allow it. So if you
feel that you cannot talk freely under the present circumstances you
are at liberty to depart as you came and matters will be the same as
before.”
“Do you mean,” asked Tom sharply, “that I shall be subjected to
the same spying observations and attempts made to destroy my
plant and my talking-picture machine?”
“I have not said so,” was the calm answer. “You are at liberty to
put any construction you like on my decision.”
“There can be but one decision!” snapped Tom.
Mr. X nodded his head in assent.
 “You must take us or leave us just as you find us—masked,” he
said slowly. “But I, repeat my offer that you may withdraw at any time
and you will not be harmed in the least.”
“No! No!” exclaimed the heavy man, with a gesture of dissent.
“We want to settle this business now. It is a big business—it must be
settled! I cannot sleep nights thinking what I may lose. It is terrible!”
“You will please let me conduct these negotiations,” said Mr. X
coldly, turning to the interrupter. “Mr. Swift must decide for himself.
He asked for this interview and he must accept our conditions of
granting it. Our masks remain!”
“Very well,” replied Tom, with a shrug of his shoulders. “It is a
small matter, perhaps. We will talk business, as you suggest. You
read my advertisement?” he questioned.
“Doubtless, or we should not be here, nor you, either,” replied Mr.
X, lightly.
“And you said you would pay a good sum to be let alone!” broke
in the stout man, who might be called Mr. B, for he resembled that
letter in build.
“Yes, I said that,” answered Tom. “And I am willing to keep my
word. But I may as well say, here and now, that I am not prepared to
pay cash. I have used so much money in perfecting my machine for
showing in private homes talking pictures of theatrical plays and the
broadcasting of opera and vaudeville that——”
“Oh, is it perfect? Will it work?” anxiously gasped Mr. B.
“It works!” answered Tom. “All I need do now is to put it on the
market and——”
“That is just what we do not intend to let you do!” broke in Mr. X.
“You will not be allowed to do that.”
“Not allowed?” came from Tom quietly. “Those are big words.”
“And we are big men in more senses than one,” said Mr. X, still
softly. “There is no use beating about the bush. We know who you
are, it is only fair you should know who we are, Mr. Swift.”
“Then you will unmask, after all?” inquired Tom.
 “No, but we will tell you what interests we represent—if you have
not already guessed it.”
“I think I can guess,” stated Tom. “You are a big syndicate of
moving picture operators.”
“The guess does credit to your intelligence, Tom Swift,” said Mr.
X. “We represent many large moving picture and theatrical interests
of the United States, and we are frank to say that we see ruin ahead
of us if your invention goes on the market uncontrolled, at least in
part, by our interests. I admit that your invention may revolutionize
our industry. If a man can sit in his own home and listen to a radio
program, and, at the same time, see the performers, he certainly
won’t put on a starched shirt and a stiff collar and pay from two to
seven dollars for a seat in the theater.”
“And he won’t even come to a fifty cent movie!” lamented Mr. B.
“True enough,” agreed Mr. X.
“You seem to know something of my affairs,” said Tom, with a
rueful smile. “You have not missed much.”
“We know more than you think we do,” boasted Mr. X. “At the
same time we realize that you are far from beaten, so we wish to
suggest a compromise.”
“We are going to make you a handsome offer!” broke in Mr. B,
much to the evident annoyance of his colleague. “You will be
tempted by it, I am sure. In short——”
“I thought I was to do the talking,” interrupted Mr. X.
“That’s right. Let him do it,” put in two others of the masked men.
Each looked like a hard-headed American business man.
“I’ll listen to any offer you wish to make,” Tom stated. “I came
here prepared to make an offer myself. But I will first listen to yours.”
He could not help admitting that the men knew more than he had
suspected. In spite of the fact that he had tried to keep his invention
a secret, the general principle of it had become known to these
theatrical and moving picture men. Doubtless they had paid their
spies and plotters well.
 “To get down to business,” resumed Mr. X, “we are prepared to
offer you a million dollars, Tom Swift. A million dollars!” he repeated
unctuously.
“Think of that, my friend!” broke in Mr. B, who could not keep still.
“A whole million!” His voice capitalized the word. “All your own to do
as you like with! A million dollars! Think of it!”
 CHAPTER XXII
FLASHING LIGHTS
Grave though the situation was, Tom Swift could not help smiling
a little at the evident sincerity and anxiety of Mr. B. Nor were the
others less vitally interested. They leaned forward over the table,
staring at Tom’s face, which was in the full glare of a powerful light.
They wanted to see if Tom would give under the strain.
But the young inventor held himself well in hand. Though he was
not quite prepared for the offer, it did not catch him napping. He still
had some cards to play.
“Well,” asked Mr. X, slowly, when there had been a few seconds
of silence following his offer, “what do you say?”
“I’d like to ask a few questions,” Tom replied.
“That’s only fair,” conceded Mr. X. “We’ll not promise to answer
anything you want to know, however,” he stipulated.
“I think you’ll answer this one,” said Tom, with a smile. “There are
always two sides to an offer,” he went on. “One is money, or some
other payment. You have that on your side. Now what am I to give in
exchange for this million dollars? That’s a fair question, isn’t it?”
“Very much so,” agreed Mr. X. “And a natural one. In exchange
for the million we will agree to give you, you, on your part, will hand
over to us all patent and other papers, including sketches, designs,
patterns and blue prints of your so-called talking-picture machine. In
short, you will turn the complete invention over to us, and further
make a promise.”
“What sort of a promise?”
“A promise to go no farther in that field. In other words, you will
forget that such a machine is capable of being made. You will wipe it
out of your mind after you have turned all your rights in it over to us.”
 “And may I inquire what you will do with my machine when you
get it?” asked Tom, with a curious smile as he shifted about in his
chair, as though it was no longer comfortable. “If you do get it in
exchange for a million dollars,” he added.
“We’ll burn it up—destroy it!” excitedly cried Mr. B.
Tom Swift could not help starting in surprise. The answer was not
quite what he had expected. He looked for confirmation toward the
masked Mr. X, thinking the big man might have spoken impulsively.
But, somewhat to the astonishment of the young inventor, the leader
nodded in assent.
“Once you turn your invention over to us in exchange for the
million dollars,” stated Mr. X, “it becomes our exclusive property for
us to do with as we please. And, very likely, we shall destroy it.”
“What for?” Tom could not help impulsively asking.
“To prevent our business from being ruined, young man! That’s
why!” burst out Mr. B. “Do you think,” he went on in spite of the effort
Mr. X made to silence him, “we want people to stay at home listening
to music and seeing pictures of a performance on your screen?
Where would we be if millions of people did about pictures what they
are doing right now with their radio receivers? We’d be ruined in six
months and we have millions tied up in our theaters—millions! No,
sir. Once we get your machine we’ll destroy it!”
“You haven’t got it yet,” Tom saw fit to remind him quietly. “And
now, since you have been frank with me I will be the same with you.
Your offer of a million dollars seems big to you. But let me tell you
this. If you offered me ten millions with the proviso that my machine
be destroyed I’d snap my fingers at you as I do now!” and Tom suited
the action to his words, rising from the chair as he did so.
“Gentlemen, I shall bid you good evening!” he went on. “I have
found out what I wanted to know.”
Suddenly Mr. B’s fingers went to the mask on his face. Evidently
he feared it had slipped and revealed his identity. Tom could not help
smiling as he said:
“Oh, I don’t know who you are personally, and I don’t know that I
care. It may make no difference. But I can discover your identities if I
choose. That is neither here nor there. The point is I refuse your offer
and I’m going back to my laboratory and perfect my machine. Inside
of a month it will be on the market!”
“Oh! oh!” wailed Mr. B. Some of the others showed evidence of
perturbation, but Mr. X remained calm.
“Sit down again, Mr. Swift,” he said, and his tone was not as
smooth as before.
“Is that a command or an invitation?” asked Tom sharply.
“You may regard it either way you like,” was the reply. And Tom
did not need to be told that the playing was over—stern reality was
now to the fore. The men still had masks on their faces, but they no
longer masked their intentions.
“Just a minute,” said Tom, still standing by the chair. “You said, at
the beginning that I was here of my own free will—that I could walk
out of here any time I wished.”
“That was true at the time it was stated,” said Mr. X. “I may
withdraw my offer any time.”
“Have you withdrawn it?”
There was a moment’s pause and then came the low reply:
“I have. Yes.”
“Then I am not free to go?”
“Not until you listen further to me,” said Mr. X. “I think you are
very unwise, Tom Swift. We have made you a liberal offer. It is much
more than you can make for a long time if you market your
apparatus. We are interested in controlling it. What difference does it
make to you whether we buy the machine and manufacture it in such
quantities as we please or if we buy it and destroy it—as long as you
get your price?”
“That’s just it!” replied Tom angrily. “I’m not getting my price.”
“We might increase our offer,” suggested Mr. X.
“A certain man once said,” remarked Tom slowly, “that he was
poor, but, poor as he was, the King of England was not rich enough
to buy him. I say the same to you now. I am in need of funds—I do
not hesitate to admit that. But, slender as my bank balance is, there
is not enough cash among you masked men to pay me for
destroying a machine I have worked so hard over—a machine which
I hope will prove to be a delight to humanity. That’s my answer. In
other words, I defy you! I’m through! I’m going to walk out of here
now. This conference is ended!”
“Oh, no, it isn’t ended yet,” said Mr. X in sinister tones as he
arose and stepped toward a push button on the wall. “We have
something else to say to you, Tom Swift. I didn’t want to resort to
harsh means, but there seems to be no hope for it.”
“Wait a minute!” exclaimed the young inventor. “I think I
understand your game. Perhaps you think you can torture me into
giving in. Or you may even have it in mind to kill me, thinking,
thereby, to prevent my machine from being perfected and going on
the market.
“Listen to what I say. If you do away with me it will make no
difference to that machine. It is complete and will be made and
marketed. Full details of the invention are already in Washington to
be patented. More than this—four models have been made. One is
in my laboratory where you may get at it and destroy it—I don’t say
you can’t.
“But there are three other complete and working models in the
hands of three friends of mine in different parts of the country. They
have orders in case I do not reappear by a certain time to make
public all the facts and to put the machine on the market.”
“Oh! oh! He’s got us beat!” lamented the big man.
“No, he hasn’t!” snarled Mr. X. “I’ll force him to do as we want him
to.”
“Oh, so you talk of force now, do you?” asked Tom.
“Since you compel me—yes.”
“Then it is time for me to play the same game,” went on the
young inventor, with a tantalizing smile.
“What do you mean?” came from three of the men, in evident
alarm.
“My instructions were,” said Tom, “to come to this island alone. I
did so, as you doubtless know. But early this morning a number of
my friends preceded me here—and they are here now. Gentlemen,
this house is entirely surrounded. None of you can possibly escape
—neither you nor your Negro thugs. If I am not permitted to walk out
of here unmolested whenever I please, I will give the signal and you
will at once be arrested.”
“You think we will believe such a foolish statement as that?”
scoffed Mr. X. “I tell you that you are at our mercy, Tom Swift! This
house surrounded? Bosh!”
For answer Tom went to a window and raised the shade. At the
same time he pressed the wall switch and plunged the room in
darkness.
“Look!” cried Tom, and from the darkness outside, shining
through the now dulled window glass, came a flashing light, thrice
repeated.
There was a gasp of surprise from the masked men in the dark
room.
“Look here!” went on Tom, moving to a window on the other side
of the room. From the gloom without there shone another of the
thrice flashing lights.
“It is the same on the other two sides of the house,” remarked
Tom.
The masked men sat silent, seemingly dazed.
“What is your answer now?” triumphantly asked the young
inventor as it was made plain to the plotters that they were
surrounded.
 CHAPTER XXIII
TOM ACCEPTS
“Gentlemen,” and Tom Swift put a peculiar emphasis on the
word, “I repeat—what is your answer now?”
“Oh, the rascal! He’s got us beat!” lamented the fat man. “Let’s
make terms with him.”
“Make terms, nothing!” sneered Mr. X. “Those are nothing but
lightning bugs! It’s all a clever bluff!”
“Oh, is it?” asked Tom.
Again he stood in front of a window and, as he had done before,
though unseen by the plotters, Tom raised and flashed the pocket
electric torch he had brought with him. Once more, in answer to his
signal, came more flashes from without. Tom’s friends were on the
alert.
“I guess that settles it,” Mr. X was forced to admit. “Turn on the
light here, Tom Swift, and we’ll talk this matter over again.”
“No!” exclaimed the young inventor in ringing tones. “I’ll do the
talking now—you’ll do the listening. I’m in a position to dictate my
terms, and I’ll do it. I owe you something for the manner in which you
had me and my manager kidnapped and brought to this place, also
for what your tool Greenbaum did.”
“Now listen here!” broke in Mr. B, his whole, fat body quivering
with fear as Tom switched on the main light again. “That Greenbaum
fellow, he went farther than we told him to. We never told him to try
to blow you up, and we immediately discharged him when we
learned of it.”
“That is correct,” assented Mr. X. “We do not countenance deeds
of violence. Greenbaum, whom we have since discharged, went
beyond his instructions—far beyond. But he was half crazy.”
 “Half crazy?” inquired Tom. “He always impressed me as being
very level-headed—too much so.”
“Still he was not right in his head,” said Mr. B. “He lost a small
fortune in a moving picture investment, and when he learned your
invention might spell the ruin of that industry, so he could never
recoup his losses, he went to desperate lengths.”
“I should say he did,” agreed Tom, with a grim smile, as he
remembered his ruined laboratory and the pains he had suffered.
“But I will exact payment for what he did.”
“You would be within your rights there,” said Mr. X.
“And for the indignities Mr. Newton and I suffered at the hands of
Snogg, Janner and Torpy,” went on the young inventor. “I suppose
you will not deny that they acted for you?” he suggested.
“No, they were our agents,” admitted Mr. B. “But we told them to
treat you with respect, merely to hold you until we could get in touch
with you. It was a mistake that Mr. Newton was kidnapped. We
wanted you held. What terms do you offer?”
“I offer no terms at all. I demand unconditional surrender!”
exclaimed Tom. “If you don’t agree to that, I propose, to use a war
term, to move immediately upon you. In other words, I’ll give the
signal for your arrest.”
“Don’t! Don’t!” begged Mr. B shakingly.
“We are here to make terms, Mr. Swift,” said a third masked man.
“What do you want us to do?” asked Mr. X, and there was no
more threat or defiance in his voice. “You can name your own terms.”
“In the first place,” stipulated Tom, “I want you all to unmask. I
don’t care to do business with men I can’t see. You might as well,” he
added, as he saw them hesitate. “If you’re arrested you will be
known.”
“Gentlemen, he is right!” said Mr. B. “Unmask!”
He set the example by doffing the black silk that covered the
upper part of his face. One after another the five followed and Tom
gasped in surprise when he saw who the men were. They were all
important figures in the theatrical and moving picture business.
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