Tom Swift and His Diving Seacopter by Victor Appleton II

Author:Victor Appleton II
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-03-18T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

THE CITY OF GOLD

AS TOM GASPED in angry dismay, Bud groaned, "We should have guessed. They must have come here straightaway in Taclos’s boat." The three trotted down the beach to the water’s edge, to seek out any clues that the waves had not obliterated.

"I only hope Ham and George are all right," Tom said. "Wickliffe may have put them ashore somewhere down the coast before heading out to sea."

Chow tried to be reassuring. "Now listen, mebbe we’re gettin’ all het up fer nothin’. Might be them oceanography boys jest decided to pull out into the ocean fer some fishin’. You said Teller knew how to work the controls, Tom."

"Yes," Tom conceded. "I taught him the ins and outs yesterday. But I hardly think—"

The young inventor’s words were cut off by a loud, echoing bang! that made everyone jump.

"Thunder!" cried Chow. "Looks like a storm’s blowin’ in." The sky had grown overcast, and the wind had been picking up for some minutes. Even as Chow spoke, rain began to fall.

"Oh, great!" Bud muttered in disgust. "We not only lose the seacopter, but now we get rained on!"

Tom did not smile at his pal’s complaint. "This isn’t just a little rain. Look at that lightning out there. It’s a major squall!"

Conditions deteriorated by the second. Already dense, wind-whipped rain was stinging their faces. Plumes of water poured into the cove from the cliffs that loomed on three sides.

"Man o man, this is worse’n a Texas gully-washer!" Chow exclaimed through gritted teeth.

But a cry from Bud drew their attention seaward. A huge wall of water was sweeping toward them! They must find refuge!

"There’s no high ground here!" Bud exclaimed fearfully. The surrounding cliffs were too steep-sided, and already too slick with mud, to aid them. "That wave will swamp us!"

Shouting over the wind, Tom pointed to a line of tall palms twisting and fluttering a hundred feet further back. "We’d better shinny up those trees!"

The boys and Chow frantically clambered up the trunks of the thin, towering palms as best they could. They had not yet reached the fronds at the top when the enormous wall of water charged up the beach and hit the trees with the force of a bulldozer. The wind increased to a roaring shriek that whipped them far over at an angle.

The tree to which Tom was clinging bent almost double under the blast. As the angry waters swirled and foamed around it, he wondered tensely if the tree would be uprooted and he would be thrown into the raging stream!

But Tom and Bud’s problems were minor compared to those facing Chow. The rotund cowpoke had been unable to climb up more than a few feet when the tsunami hit. Foam surged around him and over his head. He was completely immersed in the wild, roiling river of sea water. The boys lost sight of him. A minute later they blanched. The Texan’s beloved ten-gallon hat was tumbling along in the surf, its owner nowhere to be seen!

Desperately Tom and Bud watched the wall of water roll inland.

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