Appleton, Victor – Tom Swift Jr 12 – In the Race to the Moon

But Tom had already switched on the repelatrons and aimed them upward.

Gasps and cheers sounded from the Challenger’s crew as the Brungarian rocket ship and its prize slowed and then froze motionless. The repelatron beam was holding them off successfully!

The Brungarian ship immediately uncoupled the ark, but made no attempt at a fresh takeoff now that it was free of its extra load.

164 THE RACE TO THE MOON

Jerry Walden watched suspiciously. “I don’t trust those fellows, Tom,” he warned.

A crewman chimed in. “Let ‘em drop on the moon while they’re still helpless!”

Others urged the same course, but Tom shook his head. “As long as they’re in our power, we can’t let them crash to their deaths. Some day we may teach the Brungarians to play square.”

Meanwhile, he switched on the Challenger’s magnetic grapples and drew the ark toward his own ship by invisible lines of force.

Turning to Bud and the three scientists, he said, “There’s no time to waste, fellows. This may be our only chance to help save the space beings from starvation. Are you ready to go aboard?”

“We will be pronto!” Bud declared, and Dr. Faber, Evan, and Jerry echoed his enthusiasm.

Hastily they donned their space suits, while Hank Sterling took over the controls. Then, as the rest of the crew watched in tense suspense, the group made its way out through the ship’s air lock and hooked up their safety cables.

Tom and Bud carried various tools to force an entrance into the rocket, while the three scientists brought bags of serums, vaccines, and other equipment. The animal experts waited on the landing platform, while the two boys moved toward the ark on their repelatron donkeys.