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

The helicopter lowered to treetop height and a heavy rope ladder was dropped. A short, dark man in a white flying suit appeared on the ladder below the

AN INVENTIVE ESCAPE 79

hatch. With a wave of his hand he gestured for Tom and Bud to climb up.

“We’ll make a bargain,” Tom called. “You let us go and we’ll tell where one of your men is a prisoner!”

Silence!

“These fellows aren’t very talkative,” Bud complained. “Ouch!” he cried as their captor’s rifle jabbed into his back.

Tom wondered why they were not interested in Johnson. “They must have picked him up!” he decided.

Still no word was spoken by the fliers as the boys climbed up to the cabin, where they saw two other men. The ladder was hauled up, and the craft, rising high above the trees, started back toward the clearings on the lake.

As they neared a wide peninsula that jutted into the lake, Tom saw a sprawling complex group of camouflaged fuel tanks and buildings that resembled his own experimental rocket project. It was almost as big as Tom’s on Fearing Island. This was no oil company’s experimental station!

Before Tom could nudge Bud to look at the place, blindfolds were tied about their heads. The helicopter was lowered and the boys were escorted oul They were marched in silence a few hundred yards. A door squeaked and they were abruptly yanked to a halt.

Their blindfolds were removed, permitting the prisoners to see that they were in a large room. Their

80 TOM SWIFT AND HIS ROCKET SHIP

guard, without a word, turned on his heel, slammed the door and slid a bolt on the outside. They heard him stride away.