“I’ll take our prisoner back in the heliplane,” Tom said. “It won’t hold us all, anyway.”
“Can you manage this guy by yourself?”
“Don’t worry. He’s going back in handcuffs!” Tom replied.
Bud and the girls agreed somewhat reluctantly to the arrangement and took off at once.
Half an hour later, Tom landed the heliplane on the roof of the Shopton Police Station and turned his captive over to Police Chief Slater. Then he returned to Enterprises, where he found Mr. Swift waiting anxiously in the space communications laboratory. Tom gave his father a quick report on the evening’s events.
“It’s a bad blow,” the elder scientist agreed, frowning. “In the hands of an enemy that dupli-48 THE RACE TO THE MOON
cate brain can be used to intercept all our space messages.”
“True. And what’s worse, they can now translate their own messages into symbols and send them out.”
Mr. Swift was stunned by the news. He got up and strode to the window, hands behind his back. “Tom, this could be serious. They can foul up our space communications in all sorts of ways-and just when our space friends need help badly!”
He whirled around as the signal bell rang on the electronic brain.
“Something’s coming through!” Tom cried.
They hovered over the machine eagerly and read the message off the tape.
It said:
WE ARE LAUNCHING A SPACESHIP INTO ORBIT AROUND THE EARTH
AND MOON. CAN YOU INSPECT ANIMALS ABOARD AND OFFER A CURE?
Tom felt a thrill of excitement. But a moment later he was in doubt. Was the message authentic, or had it been sent by their enemies?