“Sprinkle this around before the whole deck’s chewed away!” he shouted through his mask.
Gripping the package, Tom turned and dashed down the passageway to the ladder. He slid open the door to the compartment below and nicked on the light switch. The acid was at work on the floor here too!
But the area it covered was small and Tom quickly poured the neutralizing lime onto the spot. As he
m
112 TOM SWIFT AND HIS ROCKET SHIP
watched to be sure the damage had been checked, he wondered how Sterling and Hanson were making out. There was still a possibility that some of the acid had fallen into a crevice in the framework and was eating into the hull.
One thing was sure: The Sky Queen must get back to a livable altitude as soon as possible! Rushing to the intercom, he cried: “Bud, dive to the island as fast as you dare!”
Without asking why, Bud obeyed instantly. As the plane lunged downward, he sensed from Tom’s voice that the lives of its occupants depended on his skill.
From the tightness in his stomach and the weightless feeling in his arms, they must be moving about as fast as anyone had ever flown, Tom thought, as the diving speed accelerated.
“What’s our altitude?” he asked Bud on the intercom.
“Twenty-eight thousand.”
“Still mighty dangerous!” Tom thought. “If the fuselage should spring an air leak-” He closed the door and started for the ladder but grabbed the telephone instead.
“What’s it reading now, Bud?”
“Fifteen thousand.”
“That’s better!” Tom breathed a little more freely in his mask. “Better ease her out of the dive, Bud,” he said.