Was it the enemy?
Anxiously Tom studied the sonarscope. The ship was approaching steadily.
The throb of its screws became audible as Arv trained the hydrophones.
Presumably Vaxilis would be using a submarine, not a surface ship. Or was this another of his unexpected tricks?
Tom dared not take a chance. He sent the Sea Hound zooming toward the surface and upped the periscope for a look at the mystery vessel. In the darkness, nothing was visible.
160 AQUATOMIC TRACKER
Puzzled, Tom eased the seacopter above the waves for a direct view through the cabin window. The moonlight glinted on something protruding from the water.
“It’s a sub operating at periscope depth!” Tom realized.
The Rockwell must be warned at once! Her crew had been drilled for any emergency-but how much time remained before the bomb might explode?
“Get the Rockwell on the radio, Hank!” Tom ordered. “Tell her skipper to abandon ship pronto! We’ll pick up the crew!”
“Skipper, the enemy has fired a torpedo at us!” the sonarman shouted.
Tom grabbed the controls and swerved the Sea Hound hard aport, swinging her stern clear of the missile’s course. An instant later the seacopter rocked from a terrific underwater explosion!
CHAPTER XIX
DANGER TRAIL
TOM and his crewmates were hurled to the deck as the blast shook the Sea Hound from stem to stern. Although the torpedo had missed them -and the seacopter was protected by sonar-blinding sheathing-it was obvious what had happened. Once they had surfaced, the enemy must have detected them by radar and set the torpedo to explode automatically at the measured range.