Before Tom could comment, the alarm bell rang on the electronic brain. The Swifts dropped everything and rushed to the machine.
“Wonder if it’s Exman?” Tom exclaimed.
The answer was quickly revealed as the keys began punching out the incoming message on tape. At the same time, a flow of strange mathematical symbols flashed, one after another, on the lighted oscilloscope screen mounted above the keyboard.
Tom and his father read the tape as it unreeled.
SPACE BEINGS TO SWIFTS. REQUEST INFORMATION ON PROGRESS
AND RESULTS OF ENERGY SENT TO YOUR PLANET.
After a quick consultation with his father, Tom beamed out the reply: WE ARE PLEASED WITH RESULTS SO FAR. FURTHER EXPERIMENTS
NOW GOING ON. REQUEST VISIT TO CONTINUE LONGER THAN TWENTY-ONE DAYS AS PLANNED.
Hopefully the Swifts stood by the machine. Would their space friends agree?
As the minutes went by without a response coming through, father and son exchanged anxious glances.
148 THE VISITOR FROM PLANET X
“They’ve got to let Exman stay, Dad!” Tom said.
Mr. Swift nodded. “I’m afraid, though, the space beings have decided otherwise. They-”
He was interrupted by the ringing of the alarm bell. “Message, Dad!” Tom said tersely.
A moment later they were overjoyed to see three words appear on the tape: VISIT EXTENSION GRANTED.
Relieved, the two scientists went back to work on their sensing experiments.
Twenty minutes later the signal bell rang again on the electronic brain.
“This time it must be Exman!” Tom cried.
The unreeling tape quickly bore out his guess.