II12-1958-TOM SWIFT in the Race to the Moon by Victor Appleton II

Author:Victor Appleton II [pseud.] [Appleton, Victor II]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Published: 1958-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

11. SURPRISE MASCOT

WITH a gasp of dismay, Mrs. Newton staggered back, holding her face. Blood oozed from her fingers and neck!

"She's hurt!" Mrs. Swift cried out, and rushed to her injured friend.

Fortunately, she herself had escaped most of the flying glass. She supported Mrs. Newton as the shocked crewmen scrambled up on the platform to assist.

"We'll take her to the infirmary at once," Mrs. Swift directed, hoping that Mrs. Newton's eyes had not been affected.

Meanwhile, Tom and his passengers were soaring high above the island, unaware of the accident. As the spaceship dwindled into the blue, an ambulance came rushing to the scene of the accident. Mrs. Newton was helped aboard with Mrs. Swift comforting her.

The ambulance sped back to the infirmary. Here, Dr. Simpson made an examination and cleaned and dressed the patient's cuts. Then she was put to bed.

As the injured woman sank into a restful slumber, Mrs. Swift turned to the doctor. "How bad are the cuts?" she asked anxiously. "Will she—will she be all right?"

Doc Simpson nodded. "I'm sure they'll heal without scars. Fortunately, none of the splinters went into Mrs. Newton's eyes. What was in the bottle?"

Mrs. Swift looked surprised. "It was supposed to be water. Why?"

At that moment a white-jacketed chemist walked in from the laboratory, holding a fragment of glass. "We're running some tests on the stuff," he reported, "but it certainly wasn't water."

Doc Simpson took the piece of glass and sniffed the traces of liquid which still clung to it. "Definitely not," he agreed. "Any idea what it might be?"

"Not sure yet, but I suspect it was some kind of explosive mixture containing an organic acid," the chemist replied.

Mrs. Swift was stunned. Had one of Tom Sr.'s or Tom Jr.'s enemies done this? Her dismay increased when the laboratory reports proved that the chemist's theory was correct.

Later, George Dilling called her at the infirmary. "We've traced that liquid, Mrs. Swift," he reported. "The whole thing was an unfortunate mistake by a young stockroom helper. He got his orders mixed and filled one of the bottles with the wrong liquid. We'll dismiss him, of course."

In spite of her concern over her friend's injuries, Mrs. Swift said, "Please don't do that. I'm sure the Newtons wouldn't wish it, nor my husband, nor Tom. The boy must feel terrible about what happened. That is punishment enough."

"You're right—he's all broken up," Dilling said. "He's learned his lesson, and he'll be mighty grateful if we let him stay on."

"Then do!" Mrs. Swift urged.

Meanwhile, Tom's passengers were thrilled as they cruised high above the earth's atmosphere. Continents and oceans lay spread out below, while myriads of stars shone like steely points of light in the black space void all around them.

Mr. Newton put his hand on Tom's shoulders as the youth sat in the pilot's seat, manipulating the controls. "Tom, it's hard to say which one of your inventions is the greatest," he murmured, "but I honestly believe this outranks all the rest!"

"Thanks, Uncle Ned," Tom said. He

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