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

Tom began to manipulate each of the moving parts. He spun the wheels, then turned his attention to the control surfaces. He flipped the model’s rudder.

Suddenly the bottom fell out, along with a reel of recording tape.

Dumfounded, Tom snatched up the tiny reel,

exactly the same position Tom had left it

100 TOM SWIFT AND HIS GIANT ROBOT

then peered into the model. Within he saw a spindle and a recording head.

Reaching in, he pulled out part of a miniature tape recorder.

“Very clever,” he muttered. “An ingenious machine with a built-in amplifier, its own power supply, and a tiny microphone strong enough to pull in a roomful of conversation.”

Tom noticed that the degree of miniaturization involved bore a striking resemblance to that used in the mechanical crow.

“The same enemy!” he thought. “But one thing’s sure. It can’t be Marco. He’s a stooge for some brain.”

But here at last was the source of the leak! This was how news was getting out! Tom and his associates had been broadcasting their most secret plans during their frequent office conferences. Each night Marco probably would change the tape.

The young inventor was sorely tempted to reach in and rip the wiring to shreds. Instead, he sat down and thought over the full implication of the espionage attempt. Then, cautiously, he rewound the tape and set it back in operation.

“Marco must not know I’ve found out. Before I leave for the Citadel this afternoon, I’ll dictate a misleading series of statements about the trip to the West and about the relotrol.” Sighing, he continued to speculate, “Since the most recent tape is probably on its way to the enemy, it’s a good thing there THE SECRET RECORDER 101