Appleton, Victor – Tom Swift Jr 03 – And His Rocket Ship

The dejected man sat motionless for a few moments, staring at the floor of the boat. Then he looked up and said:

“The man who is responsible for this is called Rotzog.”

“How long have you known him?” Tom asked.

“I don’t know him at all,” Herbst replied. “I was approached by a Mr. Hein. He seems to be some sort of henchman.”

“We know about him,” said Tom quietly. “Did he ever mention where the outfit’s rocket-launching area is?”

“Then you know about the Rotzog group?” the professor asked in amazement.

“Yes.”

“I know very little about the Rotzog rocket and I have no idea where it is.

Please believe me,” Herbst pleaded.

Tom and his father looked at each other and nodded. On the last point they agreed that the pro-134 TOM SWIFT AND HIS ROCKET SHIP

fessor was telling the truth. He was taken away to await the arrival of an agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The rest of the Rocket Commission, almost too astounded to comment about their traitorous associate, rode off in the speedboat. Soon afterward, the other visitors left and the islanders settled down to a peaceful evening.

An hour later, however, the calmness was broken by news brought by an FBI agent. A large New York evening paper had carried a scoop saying one of their reporters had been tipped off that Tom Swift Jr. had been lost in a rocket launched prematurely.

“Good night!” the young inventor exclaimed. “Who gave out such a story?”

Harlan Ames said he would check its source. In a call to the city editor the security agent learned that a reporter in New York had picked up the tip from a foreigner near International Airport.