“There’s the entry hatch,” said Tom, pointing to a closely fitting door outlined in the hull.
“How do we open it?” Bud asked.
“Hmm, good question.”
Tom fingered the hatch until he found a place where it yielded to pressure and the door sprang open. Tom and Bud gasped at the contents. There was no one inside. Instead, the rocket contained a mass of electronic equipment, including several tape recorders and a powerful radio transmitter.
132
THE HALF-BURIED ROCKET 133
“Well, for Pete’s sake!” Bud cried out. “What does this mean? Did the rocket land here by mistake?”
“No, it was sent here on purpose. It’s tuned to our special frequency.” Tom said grimly after a glance at the dial.
“You mean this is what’s been sending us those radio messages we thought were from your father and Ted?”
Tom nodded, tight-lipped. “I’d bet on it. Let’s check these recording tapes.”
“Good night! Don’t touch the stuff, Tom!” Bud begged. “It may have some kind of alarm mechanism that will warn your enemy we’re here!”
The words were hardly out of his mouth when one of the tape recorders switched on automatically and began to play. Ted Spring’s voice came blaring out of the loud-speaker.
“Calling Tom Swift at the outpost! This is Ted Spring speaking. Come and rescue us, Tom! Your father and I are stranded on the moon!”
Mr. Swift’s voice joined in. “Please come at once, son. We can’t hold out much longer. Our location on the moon is near the same spot where you landed before.”
Tom and Bud exchanged stunned glances as the broadcast ended. “There’s your answer, Bud,” the young inventor muttered. “If you ask me, Dad and Ted have never been near this place. The rocket was sent to the moon to lure us up here!”
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