“How’s the patient this morning?” Ted inquired.
“Tops!” Tom grinned back. “I can hardly wait till they peel off these bandages.”
“Going back to work right away?” Ted asked.
“The sooner the better,” Tom declared.
DANGER ZONE 31
“Swell! I’m eager to see how new tests on your matter-making machine pan out.”
“Ditto!” Bud put in. “Boy, if you get that gadget perfected, Tom, we can really take off for the wild blue yonder-Mars next stop!”
“Slow down, spaceman.” Tom chuckled. “It’ll take a while yet before we’re ready to go planet-hopping. If you fellows really want to help, though, there’s one thing you can do.”
“Name it,” Bud said.
Tom reached out to the night stand beside his bed and picked up several papers covered with pencil sketches. “I’ve designed a cooling apparatus to keep those aluminum conductor bars from overheating,” he said. “You two might rig it up this morning.”
Tom explained the drawings, and his friends eagerly promised to tackle the job.
“Consider it done, skipper.” Bud clicked his heels and snapped a quick salute.
Between them, Bud and Ted assembled and installed the apparatus in a couple of hours. When they returned to the infirmary after lunch, the boys found Tom dressed and his bandages removed.
“Hey! The patient’s fully recovered!” Bud chortled, grabbing his pal in a bear hug.
“Ouch! Take it easy!” Tom’s face assumed a comical expression of agony.
“The nurse says I’m to be treated extra delicately.”
“Okay. I’ll put on kid gloves for our next
32 SPACE SOLARTRON
match,” Bud bantered. “Just incidentally, the cooling apparatus is all set up for your test run.”