Appleton, Victor – Tom Swift Jr 02 – And His Jetmarine

Then the voice of Jeffers came over louder. “Tom, two men have jumped out of each car. They have slugged the dummy driver. They’re pulling off the tarpaulin. Ohl”

There was a slight pause. “Are they mad! They’re cursing you from here to the Pacific!”

Tom chuckled. “Go on!”

“They seem confused as to how the truck was run. A couple of them are hurrying away from it as if they had seen a ghost. Here come the police,” Jeffers said. “But I’m afraid they’re too late. Those thugs took off in an awful hurry!”

“Good work, Jeffers,” Tom said. “Get back here as quickly as you can. We’ll pick up the trailer and the police report later.” Then he turned to his men. “Now’s the time for us to go,” he said. “We’ve cleared the way. Everybody ready?”

He and Bud mounted the ladder which extended up to the height of two stories to the side of the giant aircraft.

“Where’s Chow?” Tom remarked.

“You don’t have to ask where I am,” came a voice from inside the big ship.

“Your ole chuck-wagon cook’s been waitin’ an hour. Ever since you phoned your family good-by.”

When Tom was in the pilot’s seat, he switched on the intercom and talked to crewmen in the rear of

104 TOM SWIFT AND HIS JETMARINE

his plane. As soon as everything was ready, Tom signaled for two tractors to pull him far out on the take-off strip. When this had been done, he cleared everybody back from the sides of the ship. Then he applied the atomic power.

With a whistling roar the Sky Queen rose vertically into the air.

“You sure were right, Tom,” Bud said. “This ship handles the jetmarine like she was a toy.”