“Like a rock,” Hawkins called back.
Tom yanked back on the power lever. Both craft bit deep into the earth’s air blanket. Down they plunged like twin shooting stars!
No one spoke as the tense moments ticked by. The calculations of surface temperature held up -never reaching a danger state. Mountains and rivers shot past below like a swiftly unfolding relief map. The coastline of Florida took shape.
Then they were easing into the final descent at the missile base there.
“Marvelous job, son!” Mr. Swift’s voice shook with emotion.
“Your calculations were perfect, Dad!” Tom replied.
Astro-Dynamics’ rocket base swarmed into life as the young inventor landed.
A gantry crane swung the Astro-Meteor to the ground. Newsmen and TV
cameras greeted Tom and his crew. “AD’s public relations officer will give you a rundown on what happened,” Tom said tersely. “Right now we’re too concerned about members of the Meteor’s crew to say more.”
His face whitened as he saw Bud Barclay being removed from the ship on a stretcher, uncon-A DESPERATE MANEUVER 173
scious. Holbrook was carried out next, wild-eyed and strapped down securely.
Doc Simpson took immediate charge and the patients were rushed by ambulance to the base infirmary. Here Hawkins, the Meteor’s flight engineer, told Doc and Tom the full story.
“Chippy blew his top completely when the ship’s steering system failed,”
Hawkins said. “He got so wild we finally had to restrain him by force-but I guess you heard that, Tom?”
The young inventor nodded.
“What you didn’t hear was the babbling he did later,” Hawkins went on.
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