As soon as the conversation was completed, Tom dialed Ned Newton at the Swift Construction Company. Although he was actually not a relative of the Swifts, both Tom and Sandy had from childhood called him “Uncle Ned.”
“What’s up, Tom?” he asked.
Tom told him of the latest request from Washington and asked that another three-shift work schedule be set up to turn out the additional Quakelizors.
“Hank and I will bring the blueprints over right away, if you don’t mind being late to dinner,” Tom said.
Ned Newton agreed willingly, only too happy to help cope with the quake menace. By eight o’clock that evening, work on the project was proceeding at great speed. The Swift Construction Company continued humming with activity around the clock.
The week end was almost over by the time Mr. Swift arrived back from the space station. Tom
86 THE VISITOR FROM PLANET X
flew to Fearing Island to meet him. On the short hop back to Enterprises, they discussed the radio problem.
“I think the solution’s been staring us in the face, Dad, but we’ve been too worried to think of it,” Tom said. “Remember Li Ching’s jamming-wave generator?”
He was referring to a device used recently by an Oriental foe of Tom and his father. Mr. Swift’s eyes lighted up with a quick flash of understanding.
“Dad, you wrote a report on the generator for the government with a memo on possible ways to combat it,” Tom went on. “Maybe the same measures would work in this case.”
The Swifts had discovered that their enemy had been intercepting Tom’s messages, thereby learning the frequency to which the Swifts’ receiver was tuned. They then radiated a signal at this frequency, modulated at the frequency to which the local oscillator was set. This had caused a buildup of energy in the I.F. transformers, resulting in their explosion.