"Tough luck," Bud greeted him. "We heard the getaway car."
Tom nodded gloomily. "Apparently our little pal had a friend waiting for him- with transportation." He reported the conversation which he had overheard in the woods.
"Someone"s sure out to make trouble for you Swifts," Bud said worriedly to Tom and his father.
Mr. Swift nodded, frowning. "And so far, no clues to his-or their-ident.i.ty." To Tom he 56 .
added, "The car"s ten years old. Not much loss. No license plates and no serial numbers, either. We checked, but they"ve been filed off, so these men must have been planning an accident like this for some time. I"ve radioed the police, by the way."
Mrs. Spring, who had been trying to remain calm, now said with a tremble in her voice, "Oh, dear, I knew we should have stayed home."
At that moment everyone"s attention was diverted by the siren of the approaching police car. A moment later it pulled up behind them with a screech of brakes. Four officers piled out.
"Mr. Swift?"
"Right here," said the scientist. "But there"s no use searching for the car owner here. He just got away with the aid of a confederate."
Tom gave the sergeant in charge a meager description of the getaway car, remarking that he thought from the sound of the motor it was a two-year-old Renser. Meanwhile, another officer was radioing word to additional scout cars, as well as to the state police.
"We"ll have all roads blocked," the sergeant said. "With luck, we may still pick those men up. We"ll have the wrecked car towed off and keep it for evidence."
Fortunately, in spite of a crumpled front end, leaking radiator and no lights, Bud"s convertible was still in operating condition.
"It"ll get us to Enterprises, if the police will let me follow you, Tom," he said.
After getting ANt.i.t RUTH SERUM 57.
the sergeant"s permission, he cried, "Let"s go!"
In a few minutes they arrived at the experimental station and drove to the airstrip where a helicopter was warmed up and waiting.
"Now don"t worry," Ted soothed his mother. "You"re doing the right thing."
"All right, Teddy." She sighed, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "But do take care of yourself."
"And I"ll take care of Mom!" Ray promised.
"That"s the spirit!" Tom said, as the youngster shook hands with everyone.
The two pa.s.sengers were helped aboard the helicopter-Ray filled with excitement at his first whirlybird flight. Moments later, the craft soared aloft and disappeared northward into the night sky.
"Guess I"ll have to leave my car here overnight till I get that radiator fixed,"
Bud remarked. "She"s leaking fast."
"Stick around and keep me company," Ted invited. "Tom has a.s.signed me to one of the guest suites reserved for VIP"s."
These were rooms on an upper floor of the Enterprises main building, set aside for the use of government officials and distinguished scientists who often visited the experimental station.
"I"ll accept." Bud grinned.
"It might be a good idea to have Doc Simpson check you boys and put something on Ted"s forehead. You really have a goose egg there," Mr. Swift said.
Tom and his father took the boys to the plant 58 .
infirmary in the sports car and went inside with them. As Doc Simpson, the Enterprises young physician, made his examinations, he listened to their account of the night"s adventure and their suspicion that Hampshire might be the instigator of the accident.
"In case there"s any danger that one of you might fall into the hands of this fellow Hampshire or whoever"s behind this rough stuff," Doc said, "it might be wise to take precautions."
"Do you have something special in mind?" Mr. Swift asked.
"Yes. As you know, there are certain drugs which can be given to make a person talk, even against his will," Doc Simpson began. "We call them truth serums. Now, if Hampshire or someone else did capture one of you, he might administer such a drug to force you to reveal your secret plans."
"That"s so," agreed Mr. Swift thoughtfully. "If they learned the details of Tom"s s.p.a.ce projects, it could even endanger our national security."
"All the more reason to take no chances," Doc urged. "I"ve been developing a serum to counteract such "truth" drugs. If you like, I could give you all a shot of it right now."
"An ant.i.truth serum?" said Tom. "Dad, I think that"s a good suggestion."
Mr. Swift agreed, as did Bud and Ted, so all four bared their arms. A nurse swabbed their skin with alcohol, and Doc Simpson then admin- ANt.i.tRUTH SERUM 59.
istered the serum to each one by hypodermic needle.
"Boy, we didn"t know what we were getting into." Bud grinned as he rolled down his shirt sleeve. "Next time, I"ll keep my b.u.mps to myself!"
Tom chuckled. "Remember, it"s all in the cause of science!"
After exchanging good-nights, Bud and Ted retired to the Enterprises guest room, while Tom and his father drove home. Reaching it, the Swifts retired at once. Tom fell asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow.
It seemed only minutes later when the young inventor was awakened by the loud ringing of his bedside telephone. Tom groped sleepily for the instrument and glanced at the radium dial of his wrist watch.
"Twenty past midnight!" he groaned inwardly. "h.e.l.lo-Tom Swift Jr. speaking."
A man"s m.u.f.fled voice spoke. "Don"t think you"ve fooled us, Swift. The Springs ain"t safe-* or you and your family either!"
"Who is this?" Tom snapped, now thoroughly awake. He was trying to figure out if the speaker was one of the men he had overheard in the woods.
But the receiver had already clicked at the other end of the line. Realizing there was little chance of tracing the call, Tom hung up. He lay awake for nearly an hour, mulling over the 60 .
threat. There was no question now but that he as well as Ted had become involved in some mysterious plot.
"But what exactly is the reason?" he kept asking himself. "The publication of the Journal? There must be more to it than that."
Next morning he reported the matter at once to the security department. "I don"t like this," said Ames. "For Pete"s sake, Tom, watch your step."
On the way to the laboratory, Tom was hailed for a conference with his father on the technical papers for the Enterprises Journal.
"Looks like a swell first issue, Dad," Tom remarked enthusiastically.
"Yes indeed, son," said Mr. Swift. "I think we can all be proud of it. You know, Tom, this has been a dream of mine ever since we founded Swift Enterprises. I look forward to the day when scientists all over the world can exchange their findings freely for the good of mankind."
Tom, too, cherished the same dream. "I"m sure that day will come, Dad," he a.s.serted.
Gathering up the papers, he turned them over to a young secretary to be taken to the printer. Miss Warner was subst.i.tuting for the vacationing regular secretary, Miss Trent.
Tom now phoned Arv Hanson, asking him to come to the office. Arv, a hulking six-footer, was the Swifts" chief modelmaking engineer. A fine precision craftsman, Arv turned out the delicately tooled models of all the Swifts" major inventions.
ANt.i.tRUTH SERUM 61.
One example of his handiwork, standing on Tom"s desk, was a blue plastic model of the young inventor"s jetmarine. Another was a small silvery replica of the Star Spear, Tom"s first rocket ship.
"What cooks, skipper?" asked Arv as he walked in.
"Special job I"d like you to handle," Tom replied. "Sit down, Arv."
He briefed the engineer on his matter-making machine, telling of the need for a tremendous supply of energy to operate it. "For the time being, I"ll carry on my experiments at the s.p.a.ce station," Tom went on, "using a solar-battery setup. But for full-time operation aboard a s.p.a.ceship or on the moon, I"ll need a much better method of power supply."
"What do you have in mind?" Arv asked.
"A device which you might call a "power gatherer" or "energy collector," " Tom said. "Each collector will be a huge sheet about four acres in size. The ship will carry a dozen or more of them."
"Four acres!" Arv gasped. "How do you expect to load them aboard the s.p.a.ceship?"
"Each one will be made up of small squares, so that it can be folded into a compact bundle," Tom explained. "The squares will be held together by a framework of foil tubing. When we"re out in s.p.a.ce, helium gas will be pumped into the tubing. This xvill cause the whole sheet to open up to its full size outside the ship, just like one of those paper snakes you blow into at kids" parties."
62 .
"I get it." Arv nodded. "And there"s no air drag in s.p.a.ce, so it"ll be no problem to keep the sheets flattened out."
"Right," said Tom. "Now, each of the small squares in the sheet will be made up of twin leaves of Tomasite plastic-one with luxium metal, and the other with conductate metal."
The two amazing metal alloys had been developed by Tom for his s.p.a.ceship"s energy-conversion units on his first trip to the moon. When placed in contact with each other and exposed to sunlight, the two metals formed a cell which generated an electric current.
"How do we stamp the luxium and conductate on the plastic leaves?" asked Arv.
Tom explained that each pair of leaves would bear a number of tiny cells laid out in "dot-and-dash" pattern. The pattern for each leaf would first be photographed from a drawing, then printed in varnish on the metal-coated plastic.
The leaf would then be soaked in a chemical bath, leaving only the dot-and-dash pattern of metal on the plastic.
"One leaf would have the luxium pattern, and the other leaf would have the conductate pattern," Tom went on, sketching out each pattern in pencil. "So when we press the two leaves together, they"ll form a powerful compound electric cell."
"And your energy collector will have a whole flock of these twin-leaf cells, supported by a framework of foil tubing," Arv concluded.
ANt.i.tRUTH SERUM 63.
"Exactly. It should generate an enormous flow of current."
Arv scratched his head. "Sounds like quite a job, skipper."
Tom grinned. "I"m sure you can handle it."
"It"s an amazing idea," commented Mr. Swift, who had listened with keen attention to his son"s explanation. "I think it should solve your problem, Tom. And also-"
Crash!
All three looked up to see a cascade of bottles and models tumbling from the case of shelves near the door. At almost the same instant the office door slammed shut.
"Someone was hiding behind those shelves!" Tom cried out. "And listening to every word we said!"
CHAPTER VIII.
s.p.a.cE OUTPOST.
JUMPING up from their chairs, Tom, Arv, and Mr. Swift rushed out to the corridor. But there was no sign of the mysterious eavesdropper.
"He must have sneaked in here and overheard the plans for your energy collectors!" Arv said uneasily.
Tom nodded, his face grim. "And he also must be an employee of Swift Enterprises."
Tom and his father exchanged worried glances. It was an unpleasant thought that some trusted worker might be a spy. Yet no outsider could have slipped in past the tight security setup which ringed the experimental station.
"I"ll call Security and ask Ames to make a check," said Mr. Swift, returning to the office.
Meanwhile, a number of people who had heard the crash had run out of adjoining offices into the corridor to see what was happening. They milled around asking questions, but Tom quieted them with a few smiling remarks.
64.
s.p.a.cE OUTPOST 65.
As the crowd dispersed, Tom noticed one young man whom he had never seen before, with sandy hair and a rather full face.
"Who"s that?" he whispered, nudging Arv Hanson.
Arv grinned. "His name"s Amberson Lintner -Amby for short. Just out of engineering college. Confidentially, he"s been dating your temporary secretary."
"What does he do here?" Tom asked.