Tom stepped up the speed and the giant began to move very fast.
“Look out!” Mr. Swift warned. “It’s going pretty rapidly.”
Tom chuckled. “If he gets going faster than the volume control calls for, a damper will automatically slow him down.”
The robot was almost running now.
“Tom, he’s going to walk into that vacuum furnace!” his father warned.
Laughing, Tom quickly threw a switch for a coordinated turn. The giant stopped. Sensory readers
THE HEADLESS GIANT 19
on the control panel checked patterns of holes in the tapes for instructions.
Then he pivoted.
Mr. Swift looked relieved. The robot now headed for the closed door leading to the corridor. Again he was going at breakneck speed. Mr. Swift held his breath but Tom seemed confident.
Working quickly, he inserted a special-action tape in a slot in the control panel. The metal body paused, raised its right arm, and extended the hand. Two metal fingers reached out, found the doorknob, and turned it slowly.
Stepping forward, the giant pushed it open. The arm mechanism dropped and the robot paused.
“Watch him take this without stumbling,” Tom said, running to the door and laying a section of five-inch pipe across the opening.
Bending slightly, his lights flashing, the giant stepped neatly over the pipe and strode into the silent corridor.
Suddenly Tom and his father froze as an unearthly shriek sounded in the hall and echoed through the laboratory.
CHAPTER 3
AMAZING FINGERPRINTS
“QUICK, Tom! Stop him!” Mr. Swift cried.
Tom frantically slammed down a switch on the control board to halt the robot.