“You’re a nice guy, Tom,” Bud said fearfully, “but aren’t you carrying your love of animals too far?”
Tom touched the controls at his finger tips and the jetmarine started forward.
“I think this will scare him,” Tom said coolly. But he had not reckoned on a fight. With a vicious, light-ninglike movement the squid lashed a tentacle against the nose of the Sea Dart. The submarine shuddered under the impact, throwing both boys to the floor.
“He’ll break through!” Bud cried as the monster closed in around the bow with all its crushing tentacles.
“I’ll shoot it!” Tom shouted.
He flung himself toward the instrument panel and pressed a button marked oscillator gun.
Nothing happened!
A look of despair came into Tom’s eyes.
CHAPTER 17
A DANGEROUS TANGLE
WHEN THE oscillator ray gun failed to go off, Bud groaned. Tom pressed the firing button again. Still nothing happened.
By now the mammoth squid’s writhing tentacles were tightening about the submarine’s bow. Tom kept hoping that the horrible creature would not be able to crush the hull of the jetmarine. But there was still the danger of its damaging the controls!
Suddenly the young inventor cried out, “Bud, how stupid can I get? The gun’s safety catch is on!”
With a quick flip he released the device and pressed the firing button again.
Vroooom!
The Sea Dart quivered from the recoil as the gun went off. The giant squid became a quivering mass, blown into a thousand bits of disorganized protoplasm.
“Jumping jets! What a show!” Bud shouted, as the remains of the creature slid away from the hull.