Meanwhile, a skywriting graphicopter had been unloaded from the Queen and assembled for flight. Tom and Bud took off in it and began streaking a line of dye across the jungle vegetation.
“Pretty neat,” Bud commented. “We won’t even need a ground survey for the skyway, eh?”
Tom nodded. “We’re painting the route as we fly,” he explained. “Our automatic navigator is steering us on the shortest straight-line course between the two ends of the skyway.”
With the route laid out, work began at once-Tom starting construction from the western end, Hank from the east. The following day, as work crews cleared the sites and poured the foundations, Tom lowered half a dozen repelatron transmitters into place by cable from the Sky Queen.
Next morning, as more transmitters were being readied for air-drop, Arv Hanson came striding back to camp. His face was white with anger.
“What’s wrong?” Tom asked.
“Plenty!” Arv blurted out. “All those transmitters you planted yesterday have been wrecked!”
CHAPTER XV
NOCTURNAL RAIDERS
“WRECKED?” Tom stared in dismay.
Arv nodded grimly. “Deliberate sabotage. Wait’ll you see, skipper-it’s sickening.”
Tight-lipped, Tom accompanied Hanson into the bush. The first transmitter was located only a short distance upriver from the village. Tom gasped in helpless rage at the sight that met his eyes.
The unit had been wrenched and toppled from its foundation. The repelatron-generating gear inside had been ripped out and smashed. The ground was strewn with electronic debris.
“Boy, would I like to sabotage the creeps who did this!” Tom clenched his fists bitterly.