Appleton, Victor – Tom Swift Jr 16 – And the Cosmic Astronauts

But I’ll treat you to a bit o’ after-supper music, Western style!”

After disappearing from the mess compartment for a few minutes, Chow reappeared minus his apron, and wearing one of his favorite loud-COSMIC STORM 87

colored cowboy shirts. His guitar cord was slung around his neck.

“Already promised Buddy boy some gee-tar music tonight, so I sure can’t disappoint him,” Chow announced with a wink at his audience. Then, after a few twangs, Chow broke into song in his slightly foghorn voice: “When I left good old Texas

to roam wide and high, I su-re never figgered

to wind up in the sky! Oh, my chuck wagon rattled an’ them longhorns could squeal, But they never went loco like this old space wheel! After ridin’ a rocket bustin’ broncs’ll be fun! These meteors is more deadly than a spittin’ six-gun! When I’m through herdin’ cows on the great Milky Way, I’ll head home to Texas an’ that’s where I’ll stay!”

The cowpoke’s audience was howling with laughter long before he finished.

At the final twang of Chow’s guitar, they rocked the mess compartment with loud applause.

CHAPTER X

TELEPHONE THREAT

THE next morning found Tom eagerly at work in his outpost laboratory on the development of a cosmic reactor. Most of his slide-rule calculations and working sketches were already done.

“Now to see if my big idea pans out,” the young inventor told himself cautiously.

Several hours later Bud found him welding together the outside shell of a huge five-sided assembly.

“Good night! What’s that?” Bud asked.

“The housing for my cosmic reactor,” Tom explained. “You saw a miniature version of it in the space-kite model. This forms the rear wall of the fuselage, with the gravitex cone sticking out through the center.”