Tom’s brain was working at top speed, groping for some escape tactic. “Get me a radar bearing on it, Hank!” he snapped. “Quick!”
Hank spun into action. “Bearing two-five-seven, elevation three-six!”
Tom was already wheeling the stand-by repelatrons into position. As he fixed the aim, Tom gunned their repulsion beams to full power.
As if by magic, the image of the missile suddenly dwindled on the screen! Arv managed to refocus fast enough to catch the flash of light as the mysterious rocket plunged into the atmosphere and disintegrated.
“B-brand my knockin’ knees!” Chow gasped. “You saved us, boss! But how in the name o’ gopher holes did you do it?”
170 MEGASCOPE SPACE PROBER
“I blasted it away from us with repelatron rays,” Tom explained tersely. He cut short the cheers of the others. “We still have a job to do, fellows.
Remember?”
Before returning to the Astro-Meteor’s orbit, Tom radioed a report of the strange missile to Ames.
“We already know what happened, Tom,” the security chief told him. “We were following the whole thing on radar-and praying you’d come up with the right answer. We have computers backtracking the missile’s flight course and we’ll soon know where it was launched.”
“Good work, Harlan. It didn’t look American-made,” Tom replied. “The prober’s video tape recorded a picture of it. I’ll have Arv transmit it to you. Over and out!”
Presently the Challenger was drawing slowly abeam of the Astro-Meteor.
Holbrook’s hysterical voice came in over the radio again: “Do something! For heaven’s sake, do something! The ship’s completely out of control, I tell you! Don’t leave us stranded in-” The words ended in a gasp and confused sounds of a scuffle. Then a calmer voice came through: “Meteor to Tom Swift! I’m Hawkins, the flight engineer! Give us your orders and we’ll try to carry them out!”
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