104 TRIPHIBIAN ATOM I CAR
two days, a pilot model of his drone plane was ready. It was a sleek and simple six-foot craft. Its propeller was driven by electricity generated from a midget model of Tom’s atomic power plant.
Twenty-four hours later his magnetic homing device was ready for a test. The next day Tom and Bud took off from Enterprises in a small helicopter and landed on a hillside about a hundred miles northwest of Shopton.
“Okay! Let ‘er rip!” Tom radioed back to Hank Sterling at the plant, after giving their precise position.
Hank fed the position into a pocket-sized flight-course computer which was hooked up to the master steering unit. Then he watched the little drone plane take off from the airfield.
In twenty minutes it landed gracefully on the hillside where Tom and Bud were waiting. Tom opened the fuselage and switched the magnetic memory drum into playback.
“So far, so good,” Tom murmured. “Now to see if our little homing pigeon really knows its way home.”
The boys stood back and watched hopefully as the drone zoomed aloft.
Seconds later, they were open-mouthed in dismay. Instead of heading toward Shopton, the mechanical pigeon went out of sight beyond the hills!
CHAPTER XI
CALLING ALL HAMS!
“WHAT happened to the homing pigeon?” Bud gasped.
“You’ve got me, pal!” Tom admitted. “We can figure that out later. The important thing now is to find out where it lands! Come on!”
Tom raced for the helicopter, with Bud at his heels. They hopped aboard and Tom gunned the rotor. As they soared above the hillside, the boys could see the little drone plane already a distant speck in the sky.
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