“I was so doggone mad,” Bud stormed, “that I almost took off in the Sky Queen and blasted ‘em from here to the North Pole! But Hal Voorhees and some of the others persuaded me to wait for you.”
“I’m glad you did,” said Tom thoughtfully. “It looks as if it’s time to take definite action. This situation has gone far enough!”
Quickly he ordered the Sky Queen to be hauled out of its hangar. Soon the great ship was streaking toward the enemy base. Tom was seated at the controls, with Bud Barclay in the copilot’s seat beside him.
As they came in sight of the Kranjovian base, they saw a cluster of men swarming around something at the southern edge of the camp.
“What’s going on down there?” Bud said.
A HAIRBREADTH ESCAPE 179
“We’ll soon find out,” Tom replied. Easing off the jet lifters, he sent the Sky Queen swooping down over the heads of the Kranjovians. As they scattered, Bud gave an excited cry:
“Look! They’re launching an earth blaster!”
CHAPTER 22
PRISONER OF WAR
“JUMPIN” JETS! The Kranjovians have an earth blaster too!” Bud shouted.
“It’s almost identical to mine,” Tom said, looking down at a steel-girdered platform. On it the inventor saw a long, gleaming cylinder with protruding electrodes at the nose! The machine was poised for launching!
“Those sneak thieves must have made it from your blueprints!” Bud exclaimed. “Let’s go down there right now and blast the daylights out of “em!”
The young inventor shook his head thoughtfully as he circled above the camp. “No, I’m afraid that’s not the answer,” he said. “Suppose Bronich is operating with permission from the country which claims this part of the Antarctic.