Appleton, Victor – Tom Swift Jr 04 – And His Giant Robot

MAROONED ON THE MESA 147

Stepping onto the first rung, Bud felt the ladder swing forward. Quickly he reached up and grasped the next rung, and the next and the next.

“Hurry!” cried Sandy from the bay.

But speed on the twisting, swaying ladder was out of the question. It was all Bud could do to hang on. Terror in his eyes, he looked at the lifters.

The next moment, the ladder was swept toward the fiery blast!

CHAPTER 18

ROBOT TENNIS

TOM INSTANTLY REALIZED that only one course of action could save Bud-to put the Sky Queen into forward motion and cut off the lifters. But he must do it without the slightest jar or Bud would be flung off into space.

“Hang on, everybody!” he shouted through the loudspeaker system, switching off the lifters and easing the great ship into a slow, downward glide away from the mesa.

With hope in his heart he looked below. Bud was still hanging on! And the ladder was being pulled up at lightning speed by Sterling and Hanson. Tom set the plane on automatic pilot and raced to the Flying Lab’s hangar. He was greatly relieved to find Bud there.

“Bud!” he cried. “Boy, am I glad to see you safely aboard!”

148

ROBOT TENNIS 149

His sister was already insisting upon dressing Bud’s injured hands, though the youth said that it wasn’t necessary.

“Sandy’s right,” said Tom. “Go to the infirmary and get fixed up. Phyl, you come up front with Hank and Arv and me and tell us what happened.”

When he heard the story Tom cried, “The crows again! Did any of you see a plane around from which the birds might have been controlled?”