CONTENTS
1 Splash Landing
2 SOS to Enterprises
3 A Solar Experiment
4 Mysterious Raiders
5 Tom’s Prisoner
6 Brungarian Headlines
7 Enemy Rocket
8 Stranded in Space
9 A Powerful TakeOff
10 Radio Leak
11 Surprise Mascot
12 A Startling Message
13 The Midnight Visitor
14 The Flying Carpet
15 Ride ‘Em, Cowboy!
16 Moon Ho!
17 An Amazing Maneuver
18 The Captured Ark
19 Secret Symbols
20 Miniature Monsters
CHAPTER I
SPLASH LANDING
“So Tom Swift Jr. is going to be first to reach the moon!” Bud Barclay stared in awe at the mock-up of the young inventor’s newest spaceship.
“I hope so, Bud. But it’ll be a race. Our rivals, the Brungarians, keep telling the world they’ll win out.”
It was only a few months ago that the lanky, eighteen-year-old space pioneer and his associates had defeated the Brungarians in a race to claim the phantom satellite, Nestria. Now this exciting new challenge was shaping up.
“We’re not going to let any hostile country like Brungaria beat us to the moon!” Bud remarked grimly.
Tom nodded as he ran his fingers through his blond crew cut. “An enemy on the moon could be mighty dangerous to America!”
“But, Tom, how can you beat ‘em in this space
2 THE RACE TO THE MOON
jalopy?” Bud asked. “I can’t make head or tail of it.”
Tom grinned at his friend’s puzzled stare. The new spaceship was indeed a weird-looking craft. Its huge boxlike cabin hung suspended in a spherical framework of track rails.
“Looks like a souped-up gyroscope,” Bud added, stepping back for a better view. “You sure it’ll take off?”
The young inventor laughed. “I’m hoping it’ll do a lot more than that, fly boy.