Fortunately, there was enough slack in the heavy-gauge wires which carried the heating current. Tom loosened the connectors from the heating elements, then pulled the wires as far as possible out of their conduit. They were long enough to reach the door.
“I don’t dare touch the lock,” Tom said to himself. “I’ll have to tackle the hinges.”
He held one of the wires on each side of the door’s lower brass hinge.
Sizzling and sputtering, the current flowed through the hinge. Within minutes, the brass had softened enough from the heat for Tom to pry the hinge apart. He repeated the operation on the top hinge.
A DARING PLAN 179
“Whew!” Tom let out a sigh of tension and switched off the current. “Now for the risky part!”
He inserted the screw-driver blade between door and frame and pried the door open enough to slip out. A glance down the corridor in both directions showed no one in sight.
Tom hesitated a moment, mapping his next move. Having designed the ship with his father, he knew every foot of the Sea Charger’s layout below decks. But could he disable the ship enough to prevent an enemy getaway, and still have time to escape himself before being detected?
“I’ll have to chance it!” Tom determined.
Darting along the corridor, he came to a com-panionway and slipped stealthily down the steps. A moment later he was in the ship’s electrical-control room. Working by his small but powerful pocket flashlight, Tom pulled out nonconducting tools from a storage locker. With them, he disconnected the main power line at the circuit breaker and clamped the two cable ends together.