Slim turned the controls over to his copilot and dashed below. He reached the hangar deck just as Tom and Bud were being lifted out of the fragile capsule.
“Break out two oxygen masks-fast!” Slim ordered.
He helped remove the boys’ helmets and apply the masks. Only then did Slim take time to check their pulses. Both boys’ were beating perceptibly. Soon the color came back to their cheeks and their breathing became deeper.
Moments later, the boys regained consciousness.
“Wh-where am I?” Tom muttered. Then his eyes slowly focused on the man bending over him. “Slim! You made it!”
“We reached you two just in time, I guess,” Slim said, heaving a sigh of relief.
“Water! Give me water!” Bud gasped, and canteens were brought.
Tom and Bud sat up, took long draughts of water, and leaned back with grateful sighs. By the time the Challenger landed back at Fearing Island, both boys felt rested and completely recovered from their ordeal. Tom phoned his mother at
REPELATRON RESCUE 111
once to assure her that all was well and he would be home soon.
“I’m relieved to hear that,” she said happily. “We’ll celebrate with some broiled lobster. Bring Bud to dinner.”
In spite of the delicious meal and the gay conversation at the table, Tom felt glum. The unfortunate and near-fatal mishap on his space kite’s first test still preyed on his mind.
“Oh, stop brooding about your old gravitex,” Sandy scolded her brother. “Just be happy you got back to earth safe and sound!”
“Guess you’re right, Sis,” Tom said wryly. “But I had high hopes for that kite.”