II19-1962-TOM SWIFT and His Triphibian Atomicar by Victor Appleton II

Author:Victor Appleton II [pseud.] [Appleton, Victor II]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Published: 1962-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

10. MAGNETIC HOMING PIGEON

TENSELY Bud eyed the cliffs from which the flare had appeared.

"What if they jump us?" he asked.

Tom tried to sound more confident than he felt. "No reason why they should. We haven't harmed anyone, and so far as I know, the people inhabiting these mountains aren't hostile to strangers."

"I sure wouldn't call it friendly—the way them sidewinders is spyin' on us," Chow grumbled. He scratched his stubby chin thoughtfully, then added, "On the other hand, Injuns out West used to spy on wagon trains without attackin'."

The darkness and silence grew nerve-racking. The only sounds were the chirping of insects and an occasional distant screech of a hunting hawk.

Tom warmed up the battery-powered radio set and tried to contact the Sky Queen. But his calls brought no response.

"Arv and Slim might be in town looking for Hank," Tom muttered as he gave up. "Or else they've gone to bed."

An hour went by, then another, with still no signs of an attack.

"Mebbe them owlhoots are waitin' for us to hit the hay," Chow surmised.

"Just what I'm thinking," said Bud. "Better keep awake."

The night was turning more and more chilly. The three friends sat huddled in sleeping bags as they watched and waited. A rising moon etched the cliffs sharply against the night sky, but no further signal flares appeared.

Tom poked up the fire and tossed on some more wood. Presently the trio caught themselves dozing off. By this time their confidence had returned somewhat, so Tom suggested that they take turns standing watch. "I'll start. You two sleep."

"Okay by me," Bud said wearily. Chow agreed.

The night passed slowly, with no further incident. In the fresh pearly light of dawn, they washed at the riverside, then ate breakfast. Cheerfulness returned with the rising sun, and all three felt somewhat foolish about their fears of the night before. The lookouts seemed to have vanished from the cliffs—at least none could be detected through binoculars.

"It's a cinch someone's interested in our movements, though," Tom reflected soberly.

Later that morning Arv, Hank, and Slim arrived from Shirabad in the Sky Queen.

"Our radio conked out last night," Arv explained, after hearing about Tom's vain attempt to contact them. "Turned out to be a blown condenser, but we had so much trouble tracing it down we let the repair job go until this morning. Sorry, skip."

"No harm done," Tom said with a chuckle, "but our nerves got a slight workout."

Hank reported that he had engaged an interpreter with whose aid he had rounded up a number of workmen, ready to start as soon as needed.

"Good work, Hank," Tom said. "Let's hope they'll catch on to what we want done."

After mapping the camp site carefully and making another brief survey flight, Tom set the Sky Queen on course back to Shopton. Stars studded the night sky as they winged homeward across the Atlantic.

"Let's see. That there's the Big Dipper, ain't it?" said Chow, peering off to starboard. "And that star right above it is the North Star."

"Go to the head of the class, pardner," said Tom, smiling.

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