“I’d like to get a close look at him,” Bud said.
“I’m not sure that would be safe,” Tom replied warily. “The bird might panic and fly into one of our control surfaces.”
He banked away from it. The bird, however, flew even closer to the plane.
“I’m going to get a picture of it,” Bud said, slipping one arm free of his parachute harness and reaching for a camera he had put in a forward compartment. “May be a prize shot. Put her into a slow circle and hold her steady, Tom.”
“Steady as she goes,” Tom replied, grinning.
His expert knowledge of aircraft was one of the many technical skills possessed by the young scientist. Bud knew that Tom could keep the plane as stable in flight as it was when standing on a runway.
Loosening his chute still further, Bud peered through the range finder and focused the lens on the crow. He was about to trip the shutter when the plane suddenly lurched violently. Bud banged his head against the canopy.
“What happened?” he yelled.
THE PHANTOM JET 5
A look of worry creased Tom’s forehead. “She went out of control, Bud. Must have hit an air pocket.”
As he checked the automatic horizon, the ship flipped into a series of erratic rolls and sideslips.
“Hey! What’s-?” Bud’s cries were choked off as he gasped for breath.
Tom worked frantically. “The controls aren’t responding right, Bud. I’m going to try for altitude.”
He pulled back on the wheel but the plane did not rise. Instead, it pivoted slowly and began to move in the opposite direction, away from Shopton.
“It seems to be on a planned course!” Tom cried, half stunned by the ship’s ghostlike actions.
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