A VOLCANIC ERUPTION 195
“It was simple,” Tom said, grinning. “I broke away from the guards, ran into their control cave, and deactivated their blaster just when Bronich was all set to launch it. In the confusion that followed I borrowed their dogs and cleared out!”
Bud shook his head in mock dejection. “Next time you get captured,” he said, “we’ll rescue the villains and let you thumb a ride home by yourself!”
On the way back to the Kranjovian camp, Tom realized that he could not begin his own digging operations until all his men were free from guard duty. He decided to remain at the enemy base till the prisoners were picked up.
While waiting, Tom quizzed several of the Kranjovian crewmen who were now willing to co-operate. One of them turned out to be Podski, Bronich’s right-hand man. He supplied the answers to a number of the young inventor’s questions. Podski exonerated the Excelsis Club, but confessed that the headwaiter, a Kranjovian, had discovered the lakeside passageway and had arranged for the spy ring to meet secretly at the club.
He revealed that the Kranjovian transmitter had been jamming the air waves, just as Tom had suspected. Also, that it was Bronich who had sabotaged the alarm system at the Swift home-and that same night had overheard Tom’s whole discussion about tapping iron at the South Polel 196 TOM SWIFT AND HIS ATOMIC BLASTER
Bronich, it turned out, was also responsible for placing the bombs in the tunnel through Pine Hill.
“So that clears Picken completely,” Tom remarked to Bud.