Tom had assigned Bud and Arv the job of planting the next group of transmitters from the Sky Queen. Meanwhile, Tom took off in a road-laying graphicopter to begin pouring the first sections of the skyway. This included an entrance ramp sloping upward from a point near the village.
The Ngombian workmen and villagers were goggle-eyed to see the white ribbon of roadway floating in thin air over the jungle trees. What impressed them most of all was the seemingly magical way Tom had spun the skyway out of his queer-shaped whirlybird. They began pointing him out in awed whispers and bowing low whenever he passed.
“Think they’ll have nerve enough to use your skyway when it’s done?” Bud asked with a chuckle.
“I hope so-after they see a truck driven over it,” Tom replied.
He made the test two days later. The whole village turned out to watch as Tom drove a heavy truck up the ramp. Bud sat with him in the cab.
“Wow! What a view!” Bud gasped, looking down over the jungle treetops.
Soon the crowd of spectators was lost to view as the vehicle rolled forward over the gleaming white
132 REPELATRON SKYWAY
span. Suddenly the truck began sliding to one side.
“The whole roadway’s tilting!” Bud yelled in panic. “We’ll fall off!”
“Steady, pal-the guardrail curtain will hold us up!” Tom was clutching the wheel to keep from sprawling over his seatmate.
By now the skyway had heeled over so far that Tom and Bud could see the trees almost directly below. Tom radioed for help over the truck’s short-wave set before they climbed out. Arv soon arrived in a graphicopter to pluck the boys to safety.