AN ATTEMPTED THEFT 131
Bud jumped forward and the two boys tightened their hold. They pressed the man into an upright posture.
“I’ll report this incident to the newspapers!” he cried. “I’ve never seen such rudeness. Why, I’ll-”
“Just a minute, Professor,” Tom retorted. “Maybe the eye made a mistake.
We’ll forget the alarm. Instead, suppose you just submit to a routine examination.
It’s possible you’ve forgotten that you picked up something by mistake.”
The physicist stiffened again. His face whitened with rage as he sensed the ruse. Nevertheless he said:
“Very well, then. As long as this is just routine.”
The boys released their hold and took a step back from Dr. Herbst. Instantly the man flashed his right hand under his jacket lapel, pulled out a small shiny object, and flung it far out into the bay!
“You won’t find out what it was!” the professor cried vindictively.
Tom glanced at the other members of the Rocket Commission. They were speechless with astonishment.
Bud Barclay, who had watched intently as the object hit the water, instantly shed his coat and kicked off his moccasins. Then he dived from the dock. An underwater crawl stroke carried him in a matter of seconds directly to the place where the object had disappeared.
On the dock, the professor was protesting his innocence. Tom and his father had taken hold of him again and he was fuming just as he had been a moment before.
132 TOM SWIFT AND HIS ROCKET SHIP
“What was that object you threw out there?” Mr. Swift demanded.
“It was my own!” Herbst argued. “My personal property! I was afraid you’d confiscate my invention. It’s a secret one I didn’t want revealed!”