Its capital city of Shirabad lay spread out along 88 TR1PHIBIAN ATOMICAR
the sloping floor of a mountain valley. Sunlight twinkled from its whitewashed buildings and tile-domed mosques.
“Sure don’t look like much of an airfield,” Chow grumbled as Tom prepared to land.
Bud agreed. “Looks as though they just finished hacking it out with a bulldozer.”
In spite of the field’s size and badly paved runways, a surprising number of planes were clustered on it. At a signal from the tower, the Sky Queen touched down on its jet lifters.
“What’s this-a welcoming committee?” Hank Sterling murmured to Tom as they climbed out.
A number of soldiers, in ill-fitting khaki uniforms and armed with rifles, came rushing out of the airport building toward them. Before Tom and his friends knew what was happening, the soldiers were grabbing them roughly.
“Oh, no, you don’t, buckaroo!” Chow bellowed, lashing out at a soldier who laid hands on him.
A rifle butt whacked the chef on his head, and Chow exploded. In a moment a wild melee had broken out!
CHAPTER IX
MYSTERIOUS HOSTILITY
ENRAGED by the blow dealt to Chow, Tom and his friends fought back vigorously, punching and elbowing right and left. The soldiers, meanwhile, milled about in a tight tangle, swinging their rifles with hoarse, angry shouts.
Arv’s beefy fists sent one man sprawling, while Hank doubled up a wild-eyed sergeant with a right to the solar plexus. Slim almost went down with his forehead bloodied by a slashing rifle butt. Bud, angrier than ever, sailed into Slim’s assailant like a fiery-eyed gamecock.