“Great Scott!” gasped Mr. Swift in horror.
Only quick action on Tom’s part prevented a second collision. The instant he brought his car to a halt, both he and his father leaped out to aid the others.
“Anyone hurt?” Tom cried, ripping open the door of the convertible.
There was silence for several seconds, then Bud replied woozily, “I’m okay, I guess.”
“Me, too,” Ted spoke up. “Banged my head pretty hard. Mother, Ray, are you-?”
Mrs. Spring and Ray reported being shaken up and bruised, but otherwise uninjured.
“Thank goodness,” said Mr. Swift.
“But why did that driver ahead pull in front of 52
SPACE SOLARTRON
us?” Mrs. Spring asked. “And what happened to him?”
“He ran away,” Ted answered. “He jumped out the instant he stopped. I saw him dart off the road to the right just before we crashed and our headlights went out.”
“I’ll bet it was Hampshire,” Bud declared. “What did he look like?”
“I didn’t see his face,” Ted replied.
Tom got a powerful flashlight from the glove compartment of his own car and played it back and forth in the direction Ted had indicated. The area bordering the road was an open field which seemed to offer no hiding place.
“That’s funny.” Ted frowned. “I’m sure he headed over this way somewhere.”
A NIGHT OF PERIL
53
“It’s possible,” Tom pointed out, “that he started to the right just to mislead us, and then doubled back across the road later.”
The left side was overgrown with trees and tangled underbrush.
“Wait here,” Tom told the others. “There’s probably not much chance of finding him, but I’ll take a look.”