After a hasty conference with Tom and the others, Sandy accepted, adding, “Why not drop over to the plant for lunch? Then we can all drive back to your cabin this evening.”
“Great! I’ll be there at noon!”
By the time lunch was over, Tom had taken a
66 TRIPHIBIAN ATOMICAR
thorough liking to the ex-Marine ace. Even Bud found it hard to resist Ort’s dry, good-natured witticisms.
“If it won’t bore you, maybe you’d like to watch me test my new atomic power plant,” Tom suggested.
“Bore me? I’ll get a real bang out of it,” Ort said eagerly.
“Let’s hope not!” Bud gulped, recalling the previous explosion.
A duplicate of the first power cell had been under construction ever since Tom and his companions had first arrived at the Citadel. It was now ready for testing. Meanwhile, following the successful strength tests of the Durastress that morning, a housing for the power capsule had been molded out of the new plastic.
Ort was immensely impressed when he saw the imposing steel-and-concrete pressure chamber in which the test would take place. Jutting from one wall were the huge gleaming pipes and columns of the hydraulic pressure gear.
Tom hooked up the assembled power capsule inside the chamber and clamped the view port shut. He twirled a valve, watching the pressure dial carefully, and finally switched on the atomic power plant.
“What’s happening?” Ort murmured, as they all watched the window through dark goggles.
“The chamber pressure is the same as the pres-CRUCIAL PRESSURE TEST 67
sure that’s building up inside the atomic capsule,” Tom replied.