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

knew it was against regulations, but-well, I didn’t see any serious harm in it.”

“Of course not,” growled Bud sarcastically. “All he wanted to do was steal the plans of Tom’s new invention!”

“I didn’t know what he was up to!” whined Lan-dis. “I swear I didn’t! He told me he just wanted to test a new anti-radar device he’d invented. And I figured he couldn’t do any harm with all the guards and gadgets you’ve got around that place. It wasn’t till I flew him out this morning that I realized that he had stolen the blueprints he was carrying.”

“Then what happened?”

“He told me to keep my mouth shut and stop worrying, because he was leaving the country to try an experiment. And when I asked him where, he just laughed and said maybe as far as the South Pole!”

“The South Pole!” Bud exclaimed.

Tom gave his friend a warning look and Bud changed the subject.

“How soon was Bronich going to start?” he asked Landis.

“He didn’t tell me.”

It was a grim-faced Tom who reported the matter to Harlan Ames later that afternoon at Swift Enterprises.

“What did you do with Landis?” inquired the security chief.

PURSUIT ON THE LAKE 89

“Took him to police headquarters, but said we wouldn’t press charges.

However, they’re going to hold him for further questioning.”

In the days that followed, Ames worked diligently to locate Bronich, but the foreign agent seemed to have disappeared. Tom, in the meantime, redrew his blueprints and speeded up work on his two new blasters to a feverish rate. One morning in their private office, the young inventor and his father were discussing the progress being made on the models.