II25-1965-TOM SWIFT and His Polar-Ray Dynasphere by Victor Appleton II

Author:Victor Appleton II [pseud.] [Appleton, Victor II]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Published: 1965-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

DO NOT TOUCH MY LAKE OR YOU WILL DIE!

11. FLIGHT INTO DANGER

TOGETHER, Tom and Bud walked over to examine the strange warning. The death goddess's teeth appeared to be dripping blood, and a ring of skulls had been painted around her neck.

"Whew! What a cheerful thing to see just before hitting the sack!" Bud muttered.

Tom's jaw set grimly. "We'd better tell Prince Gopal about this."

Tom found a servant, who hurried to notify the dewan. Prince Gopal came to the boys' room. A look of alarm spread over his face when he saw the sinister painting.

"When did this happen?" he asked.

Tom replied, "It wasn't here when we came back to our room after dinner."

"No doubt it was done during the fireworks display," Gopal said. "Many of the guards and servants left their posts to watch the sky spectacle. The culprit may have slipped in through a window."

"Looks to me like the work of more dacoits," Bud put in. "Maybe the same gang who stole Sandy's Kali pin and attacked Prince Jahan."

"You may be right," Gopal agreed. "I fear this may be only the first hint of worse trouble to come."

Tom said, "You take the warning seriously?"

"Most seriously!" Gopal snapped. "I have told you that tampering with the Lake of Kali may provoke an outbreak among the people. Now it appears that your own life is in danger."

The dewan strode back and forth, twisting his mustache. Then he faced Tom. "I trust you will now reconsider your foolhardy plans."

"As I told you last night, sir, I've made no plans yet," the young inventor replied coolly. "What happens after I get more data on the lake will be up to Prince Jahan and the Rajah."

Gopal's dark eyes gleamed with anger, but when he spoke, his voice was cold and polite. "Very well. But you now know the risk you are taking. Good night, gentlemen."

The dewan strode out of the room. Soon a servant appeared to clean the gruesome painting off the wall. He was nervous and fearful.

As the boys got ready for bed, Bud chuckled. "Knowing what a stubborn clunk you are, I suppose a mere death threat won't stop you."

"Bud, the peasants in this country don't look exactly overfed," Tom replied. "If purifying that lake will make new farmland for these people, I'm going right ahead in spite of Kali and her stooges."

Next morning Tom reported the incident to Jahan. The prince frowned when he heard about the threat. He was silent for a moment, then said, "That valley could feed many mouths if it were irrigated with good water. I am not afraid of a few fanatics—but there is your own safety to think of, Tom."

"If you're willing to go ahead, so am I."

"Then it is settled."

Tom told Bill Harper, the geologist, that they would take off in the Sky Queen at ten o'clock. A little later Hugh Mortlake accosted Tom in a corridor of the palace.

"I hear you're flying north," the archaeologist said. "Could you take me to Shankaru?"

"I guess so—if you have permission.

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