Appleton, Victor – Tom Swift Jr 05 – And His Atomic Earth Blaster

“Look!”

From the higher ground not far from the camp, small geysers of steam were rising. The next moment, the top of a nearby hill exploded, becoming a volcano of terrifying fury!

CHAPTER 25

MOLTEN TRIUMPH

TRANSFIXED WITH HORROR, Tom and Voorhees stared at the volcano.

Then they rushed from the listening post for a wider view of the catastrophe.

A column of smoke and gases billowed upward from the top of the cone, as red-hot cinders rained down in all directions! At the same time, the volcano spewed surge after surge of molten black lava, which came rolling down the hillside!

Striking the ice, the lava turned it instantly into hissing steam. Mingled with the acrid volcanic gases, this made the air almost unbreathable.

“Break out the gas masks!” Tom yelled to Bud Barclay. “Make sure every man gets one and wears itl”

“What do we do now, skipper?” demanded Arvid

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Hanson tautly. “Seems to me as if that lava will bury the camp!”

Tom looked over the area, then shook his head. “I don’t think so, Arv. I believe that formation of ice hummocks will deflect the stuff so the flow skirts our camp.”

Tom’s prediction was greeted with open doubts. Several of the men had fled from the camp in search of safer ground.

Without stopping to argue, Tom hurried back up the slope.

“Hey! Where in tarnation you goin’, son?” Chow yelled after him.

“To call the listening posts!” Tom shouted back over his shoulder. In the control cave, he quickly made contact with Stations One and Two. In each case, the technicians reported that the outlook appeared safe so far, and that they planned to remain at their posts unless the situation changed.