Appleton, Victor – Tom Swift Jr 22 – And His Repelatron Skyway

Heading the craft on a course straight across the woods, Tom began writing on the sensor panel:

FOREST FIRE! NO CAUSE FOR PANIC

BUT LEAVE PARK IMMEDIATELY! MAIN ROAD BLOCKED. USE WEST EXIT

As Tom wrote, the ship automatically began painting the words in huge, luminous red letters across the sky. Next, Tom switched the skywriter’s color selector and added a sweeping green arrow, pointing out the direction of the proper exit.

“Boy, this is the greatest thing since the invention of the fire engine!” Bud declared.

“How long will the writing keep its shape before the paint or gas-or whatever it is-scatters?”

“It won’t scatter at all, although the lines of writing may drift with the air currents.”

Tom added that if the arrow were blown out of line, he 4 REPELATRON SKYWAY

might have to blot it out and paint a new one. “But the letters should remain distinct for several hours before they fade.”

Tom explained that the colored gas used for the “sky paint” contained ions of Inertite. This was a substance which Tom had extracted from rocks taken from the caves of nuclear fire in Africa. After exposure in the laboratory to radiation, the Inertite began to generate a continuous high-energy field which made the molecules of gas cling together.

Tom’s skywritten warning had an immediate electrifying effect on the picnickers.

They doused their fires and hurried toward the west exit.

“Here come the fire fighters!” Bud exclaimed. Several fire trucks could be seen speeding toward the reservation.

Meanwhile, Tom flew a careful search pattern over the woods to make sure all campers and picnickers were safely on the way out. Satisfied that no one was in danger, he headed back to the fire.