II22-1963-TOM SWIFT and His Repelatron Skyway by Victor Appleton II

Author:Victor Appleton II [pseud.] [Appleton, Victor II]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Published: 1963-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

11. A WEIRD MONSTER

SUMMONING all his willpower, Tom fought to steady his nerves. It was the colder air from outside the chamber, he realized, that was causing the mix to set.

"What a blockhead I was, not to close the hatch after I climbed in!" Tom thought.

If only he could reach the inspection door and shut it, he might be able to halt the hardening process. With a tremendous effort, Tom stretched out his arms. No use—the door was out of reach.

As another thought struck him, Tom began turning the jet nozzles to make the apertures smaller. This would slow down the output, but Tom realized that he dare not adjust them too finely. If the nozzles clogged again, the whole machine might explode from the back pressure!

By this time, the plastic foam was chest-high and hardening almost instantly. Tom was finding it difficult to breathe. He squirmed his shoulders, trying desperately to enlarge his body space. His skin was clammy as he felt himself giving way again to panic.

Suddenly Tom heard the door of the laboratory being opened.

"Tom!—Tom? Are you here?" It was his father!

The boy's throat felt so dry and tight that it was a moment before he could make any sound come out. "Dad!" he croaked. "I'm—inside—the—machine!"

"Great Scott!" the elder scientist gasped. He dashed across the laboratory and switched off the motor. "What happened, son?"

"Th-the Durafoam hardened, Dad. Get a solvent—you know the formula."

Mr. Swift hurried to a shelf of chemicals, selected a huge glass bottle, then returned and began pouring its contents slowly into the mixing chamber. Minutes passed as the liquid filtered down through the hard but porous Durafoam, dissolving the material layer by layer. At last it had softened enough for Tom to move about in the slush. He made his way to the hatch, and his father's strong arms reached in to pull him through the opening.

"Whew!" Tom was panting and shivering. He was still caked with the whitish, oozing Durafoam. "Th-thanks, Dad."

Mr. Swift helped him out of his coveralls and boots, then grinned and gave Tom a reassuring hug. "Better sit down and get your breath, son. I'll bring you a glass of water."

After a few moments Tom was able to talk about his terrible experience. He explained how the mishap had occurred. Then he smiled. "Dad, that Durafoam hardens even faster than I had expected. I'd better mix in a little chemical retardant when I use the stuff for my highway-laying process."

Mr. Swift was keenly interested in the progress of Tom's newest scientific undertaking. The young inventor explained that his plastic highway would be laid—or rather extruded—by a hovering slow-skimming aircraft. For this job, he planned to use one of his new graphicopters, which were already being produced and sold by the Swift Construction Company.

The two Toms were deep in their discussion when Mr. Swift suddenly exclaimed, "Good night! I almost forgot why I dropped over here. I happened to call home, and Sandy asked me to rout you out of your lab so you wouldn't be late for your double date this evening.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.