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

Damage to the laboratory was also slight. One shattered windowpane, plus some broken test tubes and other minor chemical equipment, seemed to be the only items which needed replacing.

After leaving orders to have the debris cleaned up, Tom accompanied Bud to the Swift Enterprises infirmary, where their cuts were treated by the company nurse. Then they adjourned to the spacious private office in the main building which Tom shared with his father.

Tom’s half of the office contained a huge modern desk and a large workbench which slid in or out of the wall at the push of a button.

Displayed in the room were models of Tom’s most 42 TOM SWIFT AND HIS ATOMIC BLASTER

important inventions, hand tooled by Arvid Hanson, chief modelmaker of Swift Enterprises. Among them was a large, perfectly scaled model of the Sky Queen, a silver replica of Tom’s rocket ship, the Star Spear, resting on three red fins with its nose pointing skyward, and a copy of his jetmarine, the Sea Dart, in blue plastic. The largest item in the collection was a model of Tom’s giant robot.

Over a tasty lunch of soup and sandwiches, which Chow brought them, the boys talked about Tom’s experiment.

“What happens now?” Bud inquired. “You going to give up on that asbestalon?”

Tom shook his head. “Not yet. But in the next experiment I’ll use a milder catalyst and take a few more precautions.”

After lunch they returned to the laboratory. This time, Tom prepared to carry out the test behind a safety shield. He also suspended the flask over a quench tank into which he could plunge the chemical mixture in case the reaction showed signs of getting out of hand.