“Any word from the Canadian police yet?” Tom asked.
“No word yet,” Ames replied.
“Any other news?”
“Yes. Your father phoned that the interplanetary gyro was ready to be picked up. Hank Sterling went to get it.”
“Good,” Tom said. “Bud,” he added, as his friend yawned loudly, “you’d better get some shut-eye.”
“How about you? A tough day for you too.”
“Oh, I’ll come along,” Tom promised. “I want to look over a few things before I turn in.”
“Okay, night owl.” Bud winked at Hanson. “Watch out for a new invention by morning. But be sure to call me if Tom decides to take off in the rocket. I think he’s trying to shake me off.”
He was driven away in a jeep by Hanson, while Tom went to the communications office to be on hand for news from Canada. Weariness finally overcame him and he lay down on a cot in one of the rooms. But at daybreak Billing awakened him.
“We have a report you’ll never believe!” he began. “The Canadian police arrived at the rocket base within an hour after they got your call.”
“And captured the whole gang,” Tom broke in.
“Captured nobody. The place is a ghost town!”
90 TOM SWIFT AND HIS ROCKET SHIP
“What!” Tom burst out incredulously. “But how about their fuel tanks and other equipment?”
“Most of their gear was blown up or just abandoned,” Billing replied. “And the personnel had vanished-every single one of them!”
“Have you any idea where they went?” Tom asked. “Did they leave any clues?”
“No clues, but most likely they flew over the North Pole in long-range super jets,” Billing answered. “A lumberman reported seeing a large number of planes heading northeast. The police figure Hein’s crowd knew that if they fled in any other direction they’d have been tracked easily.”
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