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

As Tom watched his friend skillfully take down the Sky Queen, he remarked, “Rotzog is clever. I hope he can’t find a way to break our barrier before we launch the rocket. I’ll feel much safer when I’m four hundred miles up.”

“What’s your real opinion of that guy’s aims?” Bud asked. “Do you believe what his men said about him?”

“I’m convinced,” Tom answered, “that Rotzog is a modern kind of Alexander or Napoleon, or even a Hitler. But instead of trying to conquer the earth, he’s hoping to become master of all space. I think he has a nearly completed space station that he’s going to launch in sections, then go up to assemble them.”

“But he can’t do it unless he has the right fuel,” Bud remarked. “If Johnson didn’t get enough information about the kicker when he was snooping in your lab, to pass it along to Rotzog, maybe he isn’t ready.”

“I have an idea we’ll soon know,” Tom replied. “When we launch the Star Spear, Rotzog will come after us. Better keep this top secret, Bud, or there may be objections to our leaving.”

“My lips are sealed, Tom.” Bud grinned. “I’m just itching for a good old game of tag in space. And

152 TOM SWIFT AND HIS ROCKET SHIP

by the way,” he added, “the sooner we get launched, the less likelihood there’ll be of one of our legitimate rivals beating us in the race. Any more news of the rival rocket that was supposed to take off pretty soon?”

“I’ll check when we land.”

It took over an hour to acquire the information. When it came, Tom was alarmed. One of the rockets in the international race was to be launched in the center of Australia at nine a.m. the day after tomorrow.”