Chow Winkler had come out of the galley as soon as he heard the news. The stout cook laid
A STARTLING DISAPPEARANCE 101
a hand on Tom’s arm as the young inventor paced back and forth. “Now look here, boss,” Chow said sympathetically, “wearin” a hole in the deck ain’t gonna help none. How ‘bout callin’ Harlan Ames? Mebbe he can give you some kind o’
lead.”
“Good idea, Chow,” Tom agreed.
Within a few moments he had contacted Ames at Enterprises and explained the situation. “Have you heard from Dad?” he asked.
“No, Tom. This is serious. Haven’t you any idea what happened to Mr. Swift and Ted?”
“Just one theory,” the young inventor replied. “They may have gone a distance from the outpost and been caught in some freakish magnetic stream and couldn’t use their radios. No telling how far it might have carried them. Well, since you haven’t heard from Dad, I’m going out in the Challenger and find him!”
“I’m glad to hear that,” said Ames. “And for the time being, I think you’d better keep the disappearance of your father and Ted a secret. No point in frightening your mother or Mrs. Spring unnecessarily.”
“I’ll do that, Harlan,” Tom promised. “And I’ll keep you posted. Roger.”
The Challenger was quickly prepared for takeoff. Besides Tom, Bud, and the regular crew, both Arv Hanson and Chow Winkler volunteered to go along.
“Never flew a search pattern in space before,” Bud remarked as Tom sent the mighty ship
102 SPACE SOLARTRON
zooming away from the outpost. “How do we do it?”
“By computer,” Tom replied. “I’ve already fed in the data about the time of disappearance and the maximum possible speed they could make of their own volition. From here on, the ship will be guided by electronic brain in the most efficient search pattern.”