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

116 AQUATOMIC TRACKER

“Right-so they tried to stop us. Later, their sentries on the electric trawler detected us and guessed that we’d spotted something going on. Then they tried to get rid of me in London to keep me from ever coming back to investigate.”

Mr. Swift frowned worriedly. “Your theory certainly is sound. And they may try again.”

Tom phoned both the CIA and Admiral Hopkins in Washington and made a full report. Both suggested that the news of the liner’s looting be withheld so as not to alert the criminals.

“But remember, Tom,” the admiral warned, “those fiends know your prowess as a scientist, and they may well guess that you’ve uncovered their vicious plot by this time. From now on, please don’t take any unnecessary risks!”

At home that evening Mrs. Swift showed Tom a copy of Worldweek magazine. “It’s the issue with the article about Petrov Vaxilis,” she said.

“Thanks, Mom. I’ll look it over right now.”

Most of the article about Vaxilis concerned his business interests. It stated that he operated through a tangle of holding companies, which made it almost impossible to trace the many firms which the mysterious tycoon controlled.

Tom was far more interested when he read that Vaxilis was an avid art collector. For some unknown reason, the article said, he never allowed outsiders to view his fabulous collection of paintings and art objects.

GOLD CLUE 117

“Dad, this ties in!” Tom said, after showing the story to his father. “Vaxilis is already one of the richest men alive, so the gold bullion alone wouldn’t mean much to him. But maybe a world-famous art treasure like the Delian Apollo was something he couldn’t resist. Maybe that tempted him to pirate the Centurion!”