Finally came the reply. “You Swifts have a reputation for scrupulous honesty.” There was a slight sneer in the speaker’s voice as if he considered this a foolish weakness. “You give me your word of honor that this-er-character is not aboard?”
“I do!” Tom snapped. “And if you don’t trust me, go ahead and risk a war!”
The boys waited breathlessly for the outcome of Tom’s bold gamble. Soon they saw the result. The pursuing planes suddenly peeled off and sped away in the direction from which they had first appeared.
122 THE VISITOR FROM PLANET X
“Whew!” Bud wiped his hand across his face and drew it away moist with perspiration. “How do you like that?”
Tom chuckled with relief. “I like it fine, fly boy. But I was sure worried there for a while!”
Less than an hour later, the big cargo jet touched down at the San Rosario airport. An armed guard was on hand to greet the boys, under command of an officer named Captain Sanchez. He had brought along a work crew of soldiers and also a geology expert, Professor Leone, from the island’s small technical school.
“I have selected a spot on the eastern shore of the island,” the professor told Tom. He unrolled a map and explained the site.
“Excellent,” Tom agreed.
The Quakelizor parts, communications equipment, and small atomic earth blaster were quickly unloaded and transported to the site by trucks. In three hours the installation was finished.
Tom, who spoke Spanish fairly well, explained to a small group of San Rosario military technicians how the quake deflector worked. He also detailed one of his own men to stay on as trouble shooter for the setup.