Appleton, Victor – Tom Swift Jr 04 – And His Giant Robot

“Anything I can do to help?” Tom asked.

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74 TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT ROBOT

“Not yet,” Radnor answered. “But we’ll let you know. And we’ll keep you informed of our progress.”

He hung up and Tom relayed the message to Bud. “It looks bad,” Bud remarked. “No telling what secrets have gone to your enemies.”

Tom was as much disturbed at the thought of disloyalty on the part of an employee as he was by the fact that some of his inventions were being given to outsiders before he could patent them. Not of a suspicious nature, Tom liked to feel that after a new worker had once been screened he could be trusted implicitly.

It was late evening before Tom was able to shake off his depressed mood.

He, Bud, Phyl, and Sandy were in the Swift living room. They had just finished talking about the latest hit records when Sandy said: “Tom, Phyl and I have a wonderful idea-”

“No more robot entertainments!” Tom protested, laughing.

“This is something very different. You’re going out to the new atomic energy plant soon. We thought-”

Sandy stopped speaking because the house alarm had suddenly started buzzing. This meant that the protective magnetic field surrounding the Swift home had been activated by the arrival of an unexpected visitor.

Tom leaped from his chair and dashed to the front door. Bud followed. Both glanced at a dial which

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registered in degrees the amount of metal on visitors, enabling the Swifts to detect any concealed weapons.

“He hasn’t much on him,” Tom whispered as the bell rang. “About enough to account for keys, watch, and dental work.”