Appleton, Victor – Tom Swift Jr 23 – And His Aquatomic Tracker

“Another thing,” Hank went on, “its body looked phony-too rigid. It wasn’t bending or curving the way any fish does as it swims.”

“Then what was it?” Ames put in, frowning.

“A disguised, miniature one-man sub,” Hank said grimly. His listeners were startled.

“Are you sure?” Tom pressed him.

“Positive. When I tried to move in for a closer THE SHARK MAN 95

look, the thing streaked off toward the mainland. Then I saw its tail was really a hinged rudder-and I could tell from its wake that it was being driven by a propeller screw.”

Hank related that he had pursued the fake shark to the mainland, reaching shore a few moments after it grounded in a shallow inlet.

“Just as I got my hood off,” Hank continued, “I saw a hatch open in the ‘shark’ and a man climbed out. He was wearing skin-diving gear, with his goggles pushed up. When I went toward him, he pulled a queer-looking gun and pointed it at me. After that, I blacked out.”

“Must have been a gas gun-or some kind of ray gun,” Tom speculated.

Ames, Radnor, and the others now hurried over to survey the shallow creek where the miniature submarine had grounded. Marks in the muddy bank showed where it had been hauled up out of the water. There were also two confused sets of footprints-one obviously made by a person wearing flippers, the other regular shoes.

“Someone must have been standing by to help the shark man after he landed,” Ames commented. “Let’s take a look over by the road.”

Several hundred yards away was a paved highway, partly hidden from the creek and the shoreline by trees and shrubbery. When the Enterprises men checked, they found truck-tire marks and more of the same prints on the soft shoulder bordering the pavement. Evidently the shark man 96 AQUATOMIC TRACKER