“They’re probably laying low getting ready to strike again,” Tom thought but kept this worry to himself.
ROBOT TENNIS 153
The following morning he moved into his private quarters which opened off the special testing laboratory at the Enterprises plant. For a week the youthful scientist buried himself in work, seeing no one but Chow. The cook hovered over Tom like a fretful hen, seeing to it that the absorbed young inventor had enough food and a proper amount of rest.
One afternoon Bud Barclay was startled to receive an intercom phone call from his friend. He was even more amazed when Tom asked: “How about a robot game of tennis with me?”
“Have you gone off your rocker?” Bud cried.
Tom laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m okay. My two giants are ready for a coordination test. I need your help.”
“A game of tennis between two headless giants! This I want to seel” Bud howled. “I’ll be right over.”
When Bud arrived he found the two giants had temporary heads with antenna “hair” but the camera “eyes” were missing. Chow had dug up two rackets and carried them as the boys marched the two giant robots out of the building to a court behind the main offices.
Tom had arranged for two portable relotrol outfits, tuned to different frequencies, to be set up at each side of the court.
“My controls are going to have some pretty fast compensating to do.” Bud grinned. “Score will be fi-O in my robot’s favor!”
154 TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT ROBOT
“You’re on!” Tom laughed as he placed his racket in the metal fingers of his robot. He eyed the windows behind them. “If my giant overcorrects,” he warned, “we’re in for some broken-window bills!”