But as Dr. Carman had prophesied, he recalled nothing of his flight subsequent to the initial takeoff.
130 TOM SWIFT AND HIS ROCKET SHIP
Ames had been knocked violently to the floor, hitting his head and numbing his arms.
“I didn’t start the tape recorder,” he answered in reply to a question from Tom. “The rocket just went off all of a sudden as if by magic.”
Tom told his suspicions about Rotzog, and Ames whistled.
“He certainly means to destroy you, Tom. But he picked on the wrong guy!”
Arriving at the island, the boys found their guests and the Rocket Commission still there. After dinner, when the commissioners were ready to leave for the mainland, the others strolled to the docks with them. As each man climbed aboard he shook hands with Tom and his father.
The last one, a slender, hatless figure in an old trench coat, was Dr. Herbst, a physics professor from Deland University. He had just started for the boat when the water-front radar alarm system went off. Instantly Tom gripped the surprised professor’s arms.
“Mr. Swift, what does this mean?” he exclaimed in a heavy, foreign accent.
Tom’s father, equally amazed, could only answer, “I suppose the electronic eye reveals that you have in your possession a metallic object that you were not carrying when you arrived!”
The professor tried to break Tom’s grip on his arm. He lunged forward, protesting that he was being dealt with in a most humiliating manner.
“Is this the way you treat guests from the Rocket Commission?” he asked haughtily.