spoke merely in terms of days. But their time references are usually very precise.”
The waiting group fidgeted and prowled back and forth to ease their tension.
Feelings of suspense began changing into gloom after two more hours had passed with no sign from the sky.
Disappointed but unable to wait any longer, the technical men went back to the plant, one by one. Hank Sterling, too, and Arv Hanson finally had to leave.
“Sorry, skipper,” Hank muttered. “Ring us right away if it shows up.”
“Sure, Hank.”
As six o’clock went by, Chow tried to pep up his companions’ drooping spirits with a simple but tasty supper, warmed up on an electric hot plate in the cabin.
“What do you think, skipper? Are we out of luck?” Bud asked as they ate.
“Our space friends haven’t let us down yet,” Tom replied. “I’m sure they won’t this time.” Though he didn’t say so aloud, Tom was worried that their Brungarian enemies might have managed to divert and capture the energy.
Mr. Swift seemed to read Tom’s thoughts. “Let’s hope no hitch has occurred,”
he said quietly.
The sun went down. Twilight slowly deepened. The trees on the hillside faded from view in the gathering darkness.
ENERGY FROM PLANET X 89
“There it is!” Bud yelled suddenly.
Electrified, the four sprang up in an instant. A speck of light was sailing across the sky I But their faces fell as it drew closer.
“Only an airplane,” Bud grumbled.
At ten o’clock Mr. Swift gave a weary yawn. “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak,” he confessed. “I got only two hours of sleep on the space wheel, and apparently last night wasn’t enough to catch up. Sorry, fellows.”