Fortunately, there was bright moonlight and use of their flashlights was unnecessary. After walking a quarter of a mile they crossed a small knoll, studded with rocks. Just beyond it stood a stark, lightning-shattered tree. Beside it was a wooden shack.
Tom and his friends dropped to the ground and inched toward it through high weeds.
CHAPTER 7
A MECHANICAL COMEDIAN
TOM, Bud, and the security officers crawled ahead toward the shack. There was not a sound.
A few yards from the dilapidated building, Tom suggested that Harlan and Radnor cover the place from the outside while he and Bud tried the door.
“Flash an S O S if you need any help,” Radnor whispered to the boys as they crawled off.
When they reached the shack, Tom and Bud noticed that the door hung open about two feet. Reaching up, Tom rapped lightly on it.
Silence!
“Guess there’s nobody home!” Bud chuckled softly.
“I’ll go first,” Tom whispered. Beaming his flashlight, he got to his feet, crouched over, and began inching into the shack. Suddenly the door swung wide with a shrill squeak. Tom jumped back.
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56 TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT ROBOT
Then, realizing that a gust of wind had moved the door, he started forward again, tiptoeing into the one-room structure. Bud followed and both boys played their powerful flashlights around. The beams revealed only cobwebs and emptiness.
“Guess we came to the wrong place,” Bud said.
“I don’t think so,” Tom replied. He had been pivoting his flashlight around the room, probing into corners and searching the roofing beams. “What’s that up there?” He aimed his light overhead.