and his helper had loaded the miniature sub on the truck and driven off.
Radnor set about making plaster impressions of the footprints and tire markings. Ames remarked worriedly, “I’d sure like to know what that phony shark was doing around Fearing Island.”
“Scouting the base-what else?” Tom replied. “The fish noises were a clever cover-up. Even if the thing was detected on sonar, our hydrophones would have interpreted it as a fish.”
“But what was the guy after?” Ames persisted.
“Maybe he was on some kind of sabotage mission.”
“Maybe his target was you, skipper.” Ames scowled and paced up and down.
“Incidentally, Tom, I just had a call from Scotland Yard.”
“About what?”
“Your kidnapping. The French police have had the docks and the Customs warehouse staked out ever since that ship landed at Calais. So far, no one has showed up to claim the crate.”
Hank was flown back to Enterprises in the Whirling Duck for a checkup. En route, Ames radioed a full report to the State Police.
Meanwhile, the Sea Hound returned to Fearing. Tom planned to take off from the rocket base early the next morning to resume his search for the Centurion.
Bud was enthusiastic when he heard how well Tom’s undersea tracker had performed during
THE SHARK MAN 97
the test. “Got a name yet for this undersea bloodhound?”
Tom considered for a moment. “Well, it detects its quarry’s spoor underwater by actually sorting out atoms-so how about combining the Latin word for water, aqua, with atomic and calling it an aquatomic tracker?”