Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint by Jay Williams & Jay Williams

Author:Jay Williams & Jay Williams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: science fiction, sci-fi, young adult, middle grade, adventure
Publisher: Wildside Press LLC
Published: 2014-11-13T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

An Unexpected View

They found themselves in a circular chamber with curving walls. A ladder led up through the middle of it. The ceiling was low, and the whole space was as snug and compact as a submarine control room.

On one wall were two neat bunks, one above the other. Next to them was a combination stove-and-refrigerator, with cupboards above and on either side of it. All these things were curved to fit the walls. On the far side was a thick window, at present shielded by steel plates. Beneath this was a control panel with several switches, colored buttons and dials, and a long red handle.

Joe tiptoed over to it.

“This must be where they’ll run the ship from,” he whispered. “What’s this long handle? To steer it with?”

“No,” Danny said. “You can’t steer a spaceship that way.” He had been inside the ship only once before, but he couldn’t resist showing Joe how much he knew about it.

“I think,” he said, taking hold of the lever, “this opens and closes the hatch.”

He pulled it a little way to the left, and glanced over his shoulder. “Yes, the hatch is closed now. See?”

“I see,” said Joe with a shiver. “And I don’t like. Let it alone,” he added, as Danny reached for the lever again. “You might break something. Let’s find Professor B. and get those sentences back.”

“All right,” said Danny. He went to the ladder. “The Professor and Dr. Grimes must be up on the next deck. Come on.”

He climbed the ladder like a monkey. Joe went after him, muttering, “All I ever seem to do is follow you around.”

The next deck had an even lower ceiling, just barely high enough for a man to stand up under. A steel wall closed off part of it; the other, larger part in which they stood consisted of long rows of tanks. They were crowded with green plants on racks, their roots deep in a solution of chemicals. Long ultraviolet tubes hung above them.

As the boys stopped to stare at this curious garden, a door in the wall opened and Dr. Grimes stepped through.

“Aha! What’s this?” he cried.

Professor Bullfinch pushed past him through the small doorway. “Danny!” he said. “I’m surprised at you.”

“Never mind him,” said Dr. Grimes angrily. “Look at this. A snooper!”

He took two long steps and seized Joe by the collar.

“Who are you?” he barked. “What are you doing here? Don’t try to lie to me!”

With each phrase he shook poor Joe so that his teeth clicked together, and he couldn’t have answered if he had wanted to.

“Let him go,” said the Professor. “He’s only a boy.”

“No matter,” Grimes said. “This was supposed to be a top-secret project!”

“He’s my friend,” Danny protested.

Grimes glared. “I knew Willoughby was right.”

“Just a minute, Grimes,” Professor Bullfinch put in quietly. “Let go of the boy. I know Joe, and I’m sure there’s some explanation.”

Reluctantly, Dr. Grimes released his hold. Joe held his head with both hands.

“Oooh,” he said, “you’ve shaken my brains into a malted milk.

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