It landed in a patch of brush, just beyond the edge of camp.
BO-O-OOM! The ground shook beneath his feet, as hunks of earth and stones exploded through the air and showered down in all direc-150 TRIPHIBIAN ATOMICAR
tions. When the dust finally cleared, the patch of brush was now a gaping hole, ten feet wide.
“Chow! For Pete’s sake, are you all right?”
Bud and half a dozen other crewmen came run-ing over to the chef. The roly-poly Texan was still dazed and speechless with shock.
“B-b-brand my poached egg!” Chow stuttered. “Am I all in one piece?”
“Yes, and your bay window’s as big as ever,” Bud told him. “But you’re about ten shades whiter than dough!”
Tom had instinctively grabbed the prisoner to keep him from escaping. The young inventor’s blue eyes blazed with fury, and his fingers tightened like a steel vise on the terrified captive.
“So every last mine’s been uncovered, has it?” The man cowered and trembled at Tom’s ripsaw tone, even though not understanding a word. Tom decided to try a ruse to get the truth. “AH, tell this rat I’m going to reactivate one of those mines and then drag him over it at the end of a rope!”
As Ali translated, the man fell to his knees, his face ashen. He clasped the front of Tom’s shirt and began to blubber out a plea for mercy.
Tom’s face was hard as rock. “Was that the last mine?”
“He says No,” Ali translated. “There is one more-near the river where the men go to bathe.”
A TERRIFIED CAMP 151
“Fine,” Tom said coldly. “He can show me where and help dig it out.”
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