Finally, he reached the balky section containing the clearance guns. After the rocket had upended once more, Tom worked furiously to rip away the housing on the connection box. Then, resetting the
176 TOM SWIFT AND HIS ROCKET SHIP
controls so that the whole jettisoning operation could be worked manually, he put his hand into the box, and with one deft movement, spliced the necessary wires to close the connection.
He had to get back to the pilot’s canopy before something else might go wrong. In this present position he could easily be spun off into space!
CHAPTER 21
AN UNEXPECTED MISHAP
AS THE Star Spear rushed upward, Tom heard of the motors cough. The fuel supply in the third stage was coming to an end!
Doggedly he made his way back to the nose section. Suddenly the rocket began to swing sideways as a result of the uneven thrust of the motors. For a moment Tom hung suspended on the struts with his long legs dangling.
As the tail section reached the end of its swing and paused, before starting back the other way, the inventor climbed madly for a few seconds. Then he held fast while the section began another oscillation. This pattern of movement had to be repeated several times before Tom finally reached the opening at the center and pulled himself upward.
“I can thank my lucky stars for this!” he murmured, reaching the motor room of the payload stage.
177
178 TOM SWIFT AND HIS ROCKET SHIP
Quickly he swung the lever to close the great hatch to the now almost useless section. Making sure it was absolutely tight, he hurried back to the pilot’s canopy.