driveway, he recognized Dick’s hardtop coupe.
The driver sprang out and bent over the prostrate figure which lay sprawled in the glare of his headlights. Dick picked up the unconscious counterspy in his arms, lugged him back to the car, and drove away.
Tom waited tensely. Minutes later, the phone rang. Tom scooped up the receiver. Dick Hampton was calling from the hospital.
“The man’s okay,” Dick reported. “Just shaken up. He said to tell you he’s glad you figured out Jantree’s ruse and didn’t fall for it. Said you’d understand what he meant.”
“I do, Dick. And thanks a million. Tell you later what it’s all about.”
Relieved, Tom went back to bed and slept soundly, exhausted by the excitement and emotional strain of the night’s adventure.
The next morning, as he showered and dressed, Tom decided to report the matter to Harlan Ames immediately. He was eager to check the truth of Warturo’s story.
When he phoned the security office, Ames said that he had given Warturo the special wrist watch. “What Josef told you was on the up and 122 THE RACE TO THE MOON
up, skipper. In fact, I’ve already had the whole story on what happened last night,”
“Warturo called you?”
“No, but our secret contact who acts as go-between did,” Ames replied.
“What’s more, that little act you and Warturo put on really went over big. Jantree is convinced that Warturo is really loyal to him.”
Tom burst out laughing. “Thank goodness for that! Don’t think I wasn’t plenty worried for a while.”
The security chief roared. “Tom Swift, inventor and actor.”
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