“Ever seen prints like those before?” he said.
Bud gave a low whistle. “I sure have! Those tracks in the snow that Gyong thought were an Abominable Snowman’s.”
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After a while the tunnel broadened out abruptly into a large chamber. The boys halted, their pulses racing, every sense alert. They shone their beams about the cavern.
“Look!” Tom gasped suddenly. His light had come to rest on a scaly figure, lying motionless and spread-eagled on the floor.
“It’s the monster!” Bud exclaimed. “What’s happened to him?” Tom readied his repelatron and the boys rushed forward.
“Don’t move!” a voice barked. Then a light flared behind them. As the boys froze, they heard a sudden hiss and saw a puff of smoke burst from the rock wall nearby. A hole had been drilled in the solid rock!
“You see what my ray device can do, so don’t tempt me to fire it your way!”
the voice went on. “Drop that repelatron, Swift!”
Tom obeyed, gritting his teeth with rage. He and Bud exchanged furious glances. Both had recognized the voice as Rakshi’s! And both realized the “monster” had been used as a lure.
Now the grotesque form got up-standing on two legs. Its large, round eyes, the boys now saw, were glass lenses in a strange sort of diving helmet, through which two human eyes leered out at them. Its wearer pulled off his swim fins and then removed the helmet. This, like the diving suit, appeared to be of some lightweight but strongly reinforced plastic.
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“Prince Gopal!” Bud exclaimed.
The dewan’s mustached lips twisted into a mocking smile. “You weren’t expecting a real monster, I trust. This diving gear was designed merely to frighten superstitious hillmen. Their fear rid me of snoopers-until Tom Swift came along with his stupid project.”
“Which would have exposed those priceless ruins under the lake,” Tom said coolly. “I imagine you’ve been looting the treasures they contain-without informing the Rajah.”
“Yes, and having them sold outside Vishnapur at fabulous prices,” Gopal admitted. “And you, my friend, are not going to spoil my game!”
Bud’s eyes blazed. “So you’re the one who had that Kali sign painted-to scare us off.”
The dewan nodded. “And my agents stirred up that mob to alarm you still more.”
“What happened on that tiger hunt was meant to do more than ‘alarm’ us,”
Tom gritted.
Prince Gopal chuckled. “Quite right. Rakshi loosened your howdah girth before you mounted, and later he fired those quills. Yet you persisted in your project. So I had to take other measures.”
“Like sabotaging the lake plug tonight?”
“Yes. A clever move, was it not? It failed to destroy you, but it has wiped out your work and brought you into my trap.” Copal’s eyes narrowed. “You weren’t surprised to see me?”
“Not very-since Rakshi proved he can fly a
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helicopter and you own the only one in Vishnapur.”
Gopal scowled at his henchman. “You fool, Rakshil No wonder you were caught.”
“You hired me to steal the Swifts’ scientific secrets,” Rakshi whined. “How could I know those blueprints were part of a trap?”
Tom put in casually, “By the way, was that Kali pin connected with your spy setup?”
“It is the insignia of my agents. Luckily Rakshi acted fast in Bombay and hired men to steal back the pin given to your sister. But I still had to take steps to throw you off the scent.”
“Including the fake arrest of your man at the Chullagar Trading Company?”
Tom needled.
Gopal’s face hardened. “You will soon learn more of our setup-if you live long enough!”
The dewan changed quickly into other clothes. Then Tom and Bud were marched out of the cavern and deeper into the tunnel as Rakshi kept them covered. The passage sloped upward and Tom guessed that it led into the mountains.
At last they emerged into a moonlit canyon where Gopal’s helicopter lay waiting. The boys’ wrists were tied, then the two were herded aboard. Gopal took off. He flew northward across the snowy crags and at last hovered down over a deep valley rimmed by high mountain peaks. Tom’s eyes widened.
Below lay the enemy secret rocket base!
CHAPTER XIX
ROCKET ROOST
A glow of landing lights, switched on at the helicopter’s approach, revealed the base’s equipment. Tom could make out shadowy gantries, a bristling array of missiles, fuel tanks, blockhouses, and high-masted antennas.
Bud gasped as the helicopter descended. “There’s the rocket ship we chased!”
The yellow craft lay poised on its pad, the needle nose pointing skyward.
“Who would suspect such a base high in the Himalayan snows-eh?” Gopal chuckled. “The only approach is by a pass from the north.”
Armed guards met the party on the airfield and escorted them to a concrete building. Inside a small office a squat, burly man rose from his desk. He had flat Mongolian features and wore a drab tan uniform.
“Ah, Prince Gopal!” He glanced at Tom and
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Bud. “You bring us two interesting visitors.”
“The blond one, Colonel Chung, is Tom Swift.”
Chung’s slit eyes widened. “A prize, indeedl And a boon to our joint efforts!”
“We’re American citizens and you have no right to hold us here!” Tom blazed at the officer. “What country do you represent?”
“That does not matter,” Chung purred, “since you will not return to America, anyhow.”
“Your base here is illegal,” Tom persisted. “This is Vishnapurian territory.”
“Correction, please. It is claimed by Vishnapur but belongs to our People’s Republic.”
“Your dictatorship, you mean!” Bud snorted.
The colonel smiled blandly. “In any case, the question will soon be disposed of when our ally, Prince Gopal, takes the throne of Vishnapur.”
The boys were startled. Tom turned to Gopal. “So that’s why you tried to frame Prince Jahan!”
“Had he been convicted there would be one less obstacle in my way,” the dewan confessed. “I hope to take over peacefully. If not”-he gestured toward the base-“a missile attack can be launched against Vishnapur as a last resort.”
His ruthless words sent a chill down the boys’ spines. Seeing their faces, Chung grinned.
“Prince Gopal and my government have a most useful partnership. We sell his lake treasures via Hong Kong. In return, he was to supply us scien-ROCKET ROOST 165
tific data from Swift Enterprises-data to strengthen our missile power for war.”
As Tom and Bud looked at each other in dismay, Gopal said, “And now, Colonel, Rakshi and I must return to Chullagar. I am sure you will treat your guests well.”
“Were they searched for weapons?” Chung asked.
“The Swifts do not approve of carrying weapons, Colonel,” Rakshi replied mockingly. “Our young genius was carrying a small repelatron, but I disarmed him of that.”
“Excellent. Then the cords will be removed from your wrists presently,”
Chung told Tom.
Before leaving, Gopal conferred with the officer in whispers. Both chuckled.
When the dewan and Rakshi had left, Colonel Chung took Tom and Bud for a tour of the missile base. He boasted that his technical experts had developed a powerful new rocket fuel based on the age-old Oriental knowledge of gunpowder.
“Unfortunately, though, much of our space technology is still in a rather crude stage,” the colonel admitted. He pointed to the yellow rocket ship. “This craft has features unknown to Western spacemen. Yet its control and guidance gear needs much improvement.”
“Is that why it crashed into our space station?” Tom asked dryly.
“Yes. Most regrettable. Both its steering equip-166 POLAR-RAY DYNASPHERE
ment and its inexperienced crew were at fault.” Chung smirked maliciously.
“However, we plan to speed up our development by-shall we say?- borrowing equipment and technical secrets from other nations’ satellites.”
Tom gasped. “So you stole the American satellite that disappeared from orbit!”
“Quite right,” Chung gloated.
He led the boys into a large wooden shed. In it stood the glittering lonos II, partly disassembled. “It was plucked from the sky by our rocket ship-this time with no control failures.”
The boys were furious. “How about that fireball attack on my new ship?” Tom asked.
“Your space retrieval device posed a threat to our plans,” Chung explained, “especially since we wish to capture the Mars rocket. Now that we have you in person, you will be well rewarded if you lend your skill to our work.”
“Not a chancel” Tom retorted.
Colonel Chung smiled coldly. “My government has most effective brainwashing techniques.”
Turning to the guards who had trailed them, Chung hissed out orders. The guards saluted and prodded the boys with their rifles toward a small blockhouse.
Here, Tom’s and Bud’s wrists were untied and they were shoved inside.
As the door slammed shut, the boys looked around the bare cell-like room, then started in surprise. A man sprang up from a cot.
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“Mortlakel” Bud gasped.
The archaeologist was haggard and unshaven. After hearing the boys’ story, he reported that he had been captured at Shankaru by Gopal and Rakshi and flown to the secret missile base.