“Say, there goes the skipper himself!” Tom called out as the man joined the last three pirates who were now scampering up the ropes.
Before they got to the top, Tom said excitedly to Bud: “Take over here, will you? Keep this movie camera going.”
“You got a movie of this?” Bud asked incredulously. “Wow! What evidence!
Where are you going?” he asked as Tom started away.
“To capture that sub and its captain.”
“What!”
“If you’ll maneuver the jetmarine alongside, I’ll jump to their deck.”
“That’s pretty risky.”
164 TOM SWIFT AND HIS JETMARINE
“I realize that,” Tom replied. “But if I can knock out the pirate in the control room before he suspects what has happened on the Jane Pitt, he can’t get away.”
“This sounds like the days of Captain Kidd!” Bud said. “Okay, I’ll throttle down to six knots as I go
With a tremendous leap Tom cleared the rails
past, then circle around and come back for you in ten minutes.”
Bud kept a keen eye on the enemy craft as the jetmarine slid closer and closer to it.
Tom went on deck and waited tensely. A huge wave slapped the conning tower and nearly swung the prow of the Sea Dart against the stern of the pirate submarine, but Bud deftly maneuvered out of the way in time.
BOOMERANG TACTICS 165
Then the moment came. The submarines were only six feet apart. With a tremendous leap Tom cleared the railing of the pirate submarine. The jetmarine vanished in the darkness.
Cautiously Tom moved forward toward the conning tower. A dim light shone from the open hatch. Tom had almost reached the hatchway when he was startled by the appearance of a man’s head in the light.