Tom grinned. “Rotzog’s next!”
The young inventor went off to meet Bud who was just coming in with the final rocket section. As Bud climbed down, Tom slapped him on the back.
“A swell job, fellow.”
His husky friend grinned. “That was a neat operation you dreamed up, shuttle boy, but I sure feel like a worn-out ferryboat.”
As the boys walked to their quarters, Tom told about Hein’s capture.
Bud whistled. “So Rotzog has stopped sending small boys to do a man’s errand. Now he sends his top men, eh?”
Tom was serious. “He might have wrecked this place,” he remarked. “I’ve ordered a day-and-night patrol of the beaches in addition to our alarm system.”
At eight o’clock the next morning the boys went directly to the launching area, where engineers had already started to assemble the replacement rocket.
As soon as Tom was satisfied that the work was progressing satisfactorily he sought out his father.
“Dad, shall we rig up your dust collector now?”
This was the device which would gather bits of cosmic mineral matter. Mr.
Swift believed that it would be of great value to scientists. The elder inventor shook his head.
148 TOM SWIFT AND HIS ROCKET SHIP
“The dust collector doesn’t open automatically. I’m trying a new type of shutter on it. I’ll contact you when the apparatus is ready to be installed in the Star Spear.”
“Okay, Dad.”
Tom went to his own laboratory where he replaced the cathode-ray tube in the oscillograph with another one which he knew to be more sensitive. As Bud walked in with Chow, he winked at Tom and said: “At ten G’s you and I will each weigh a ton.”