For a moment Tom considered using gasoline from the ground vehicles. But he quickly discarded this idea, since the paraplane’s power plant had been designed for special jet fuel.
“Guess I’ll have to drive to the Flying Lab by jeep,” Tom decided. Before leaving, he contacted the village by radio.
Bud answered. “What’s up, pal?” When Tom reported his plight, Bud commented, “Maybe it wasn’t just the rain!”
“Meaning what?” Tom asked.
“Meaning that skinny guy Max told us about,” Bud replied. “He may have dumped water into the tank on purpose. I think we should do some detective work and try to get a line on that skinny joker-or at least find out if Magnificent Max just dreamed up the whole thing.”
“Maybe you’ve got something there,” Tom
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ELECTRONIC RETROSCOPE
agreed. “We’ll talk about it when I get back.”
Tom signed off and made everything secure aboard the paraplane. Then he climbed into the jeep again and started off on the long, grueling trail to the Flying Lab.
The towering trees of the tropical rain forest shut out the sunlight, and the dark, steamy atmosphere was noisy with the buzz of insects and the raucous screams of jungle birds. “This is sure no place for a picnic!” Tom thought wryly.
Suddenly a scream of terror reached his ears. Tom slammed on the brakes, his face turning pale at the agonized sound. “Good grief! What was that?” he wondered.
Again he heard screaming. “That’s a human voice!” Tom realized. Grabbing the rifle which
A NARROW ESCAPE 101
had been carried in the jeep at all times since the Flying Lab’s arrival, Tom leaped out and ran toward the sound.