Early the next morning the Sky Queen was elevated from the underground hangar and readied for flight. Tom’s family, accompanied by Phyl and Bud, stood by to watch the take-off.
“Sure wish I was going with you!” said Bud wistfully, as they shook hands.
”Don’t worry, flyboy, you’ll soon be joining us.
138 TOM SWIFT AND HIS ATOMIC BLASTER
And on your way down, take good care of the pooches!”
Tom waved a last good-by from the pilot’s compartment of the Sky Queen as the nuclear engines roared into life. With a blast of power from the jet lifters, the great silver ship soared up into the blue.
Traveling through the skies at fourteen hundred miles an hour, Tom watched cities, jungles, and mountains unfold below, then broad stretches of ocean. Ten hours later he caught his first glimpse of the vast and perilous south polar land!
The sky was gray and foggy, and the sea looked the color of lead. But the awe-inspiring spectacle of rugged, towering mountain peaks more than made up for the gloomy atmosphere.
The shores were edged with pack ice. As Tom and his companions watched through powerful binoculars, they made out numerous flocks of penguins, as well as several spouting whales.
Soon they were crossing the Ross Sea, one of the two great gateways to the interior of the Antarctic. Southward, toward the Pole, the sea was bounded by the huge and glittering Ross Barrier.
At the western end of the Barrier, they sighted a volcanic peak emitting plumes of smoke. Tom recognized this as Mount Erebus, and from there on checked his charts frequently for the position recommended by Dorset as a good base.