“Toss you for first serve,” Bud yelled, adjusting the magnitude-and-action blending controls. His robot took a vicious slash at the ball.
Tom laughed. “Net ball!”
ROBOT TENNIS 155
His robot took a swing. The ball bounded back across the court. The game was on!
The extraordinary sight of two metal automatons, whacking a tennis ball, darting for rebounds, and charging the net, drew a large audience of plant workers. They cheered and whistled each time a ball was missed or a clever drive completed.
156 TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT ROBOT
“Brand my sunfishin’ horse!” cried Chow. “This sure is the confoundinest game I ever did see!”
Tom’s robot had trouble gauging the service line, while Bud’s kept slamming out of the court on overhand returns. The boys’ hands flew from hand control to foot angle directors and the robots’ motors were constantly reversing.
At first the giants tended to exaggerate their motions, with the result that the game was clumsy and far from professional. As the game progressed, however, the automatons grew more adept and play became subtle and fine.
Suddenly Bud yelled, “Tom, this is for the time you took over Herbert in the skit!”
His robot drove a slashing ball to the corner of the court. Tom was unable to direct his robot to return it.
In the end, Bud’s robot won the game, which had gone to deuce five times.
Tom made his robot jump the net to congratulate the winning giant and the audience clapped in appreciation of the show.
Tom was pleased with the coordination of his metal men and told Bud only one thing remained to be done now before the giants would be ready for shipment to the Citadel.