At sight of the Sky Queen, the Indian muttered in awe, “Skookum kallakalla!”
“Come again?” Bud said, blinking.
“In the Chinook tongue that means mighty bird,” explained the colonel. “And never have I seen a plane which more deserved the title!”
Tom showed him the cargo stowage space on the
DOG TROUBLE 123
first deck, then, with Sandy and Phyllis, he went topside to contact Shopton via shortwave radio.
“What do you plan on doing with the dogs?” Bud asked the colonel. “Just turn ‘em loose here in this cargo compartment?”
The Indian shook his head. “They’d be at each other’s throats the moment you did so. I think the safest plan will be to partition them off in separate stalls.”
With lumber which he had brought along in the trailer, he proceeded to put together some crude wooden stalls, one for each dog. With Bud helping him, the job was quickly completed.
Meanwhile, Tom had made radio contact with his father back at Swift Enterprises. He told him of Bronich’s visit to Colonel Eagle Friend, and the spy’s boast about mining ore at the South Pole.
“Looks as if we’ll have to move fast, Dad, if we don’t want Bronich to beat us to the punch. How are things coming at the plant?”
“Good shape, son. Hank Sterling says the main blaster should be ready for testing tomorrow.”
“Swell, Dad! That’s great news! In the meantime, how about contacting Washington for final clearance?”
Mr. Swift promised to do so immediately, and Tom signed off. A short time later the huge plane headed back to Shopton.
124 TOM SWIFT AND HIS ATOMIC BLASTER