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

But Mrs. Newton’s exploded, splintering into a thousand pieces and showering her with glass 1

CHAPTER XI

SURPRISE MASCOT

WITH a gasp of dismay, Mrs. Newton staggered back, holding her face.

Blood oozed from her fingers and neck!

“She’s hurt!” Mrs. Swift cried out, and rushed to her injured friend.

Fortunately, she herself had escaped most of the flying glass. She supported Mrs. Newton as the shocked crewmen scrambled up on the platform to assist.

“We’ll take her to the infirmary at once,” Mrs. Swift directed, hoping that Mrs.

Newton’s eyes had not been affected.

Meanwhile, Tom and his passengers were soaring high above the island, unaware of the accident. As the spaceship dwindled into the blue, an ambulance came rushing to the scene of the accident. Mrs. Newton was helped aboard with Mrs. Swift comforting her.

The ambulance sped back to the infirmary. Here, Dr. Simpson made an examination and

SURPRISE MASCOT 99

cleaned and dressed the patient’s cuts. Then she was put to bed.

As the injured woman sank into a restful slumber, Mrs. Swift turned to the doctor. “How bad are the cuts?” she asked anxiously. “Will she -will she be all right?”

Doc Simpson nodded. “I’m sure they’ll heal without scars. Fortunately, none of the splinters went into Mrs. Newton’s eyes. What was in the bottle?”

Mrs. Swift looked surprised. “It was supposed to be water. Why?”

At that moment a white-jacketed chemist walked in from the laboratory, holding a fragment of glass. “We’re running some tests on the stuff,” he reported, “but it certainly wasn’t water.”