“Where are the actors?” Baker spoke up. “This is Tom and Bud’s cue.”
The two youths were in Tom’s lab where the inventor was fusing two wires.
Although he used no soldering iron or blowtorch, a weld was being produced!
Chow was looking on with something akin to fear in his eyes. “That jest ain’t natural, Tom,” he said. “Brand my coyotes, goin’ against what’s right.”
Tom grinned. “What’s the matter with coaxing a little fire from the sun to do your work? That pane of glass, Chow”-he pointed-“is specially ray absorbent.”
“You mean it’s jest a ole-fashioned burning glass?” the cook asked.
Tom nodded. “Only stronger.”
The telephone rang and Chow answered. A peculiar look came over his face as he glanced at Tom. All he said was “Okay” and mysteriously left the room.
CHAPTER 10
A CRUCIAL TEST
BEFORE TOM AND BUD could leave the lab for the pressure test of the Fat Man, the call signal of the videophone flashed on. The boys stood still as the inventor tuned it in. Kane was revealed as Tom acknowledged that he was ready for the message.
“Big news!” the telecaster said. “A plane has just reported seeing a ship sink in the Caribbean. The odd thing about it is that there was no call for help-at least no one picked it up.”
“The people on board might have been blacked out,” Tom suggested. “What about survivors? Did they give the usual account?”
“Tom, there weren’t any survivors,” Kane replied. “It was a small freighter called the Spray Cloud. It’s a pretty grim story.”
“I’ll say. The question is, did the pirates sink it or was there an accident aboard?”
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