Tom had spent the night on Fearing Island. At 8:13 a.m., after frenzied preparations through the predawn hours by the launch crew, the Sampson Mark III lifted off its pad with a gush of flame and streaked skyward toward the Green Orb. Mr. Swift, Tom, Dr. Grimsey, and Bud observed the blast-off from a concrete bunker.
“Good old Rad Sampson!” murmured Mr. Swift as the probe missile disappeared into the blue. “He never dreamed his name would be attached to a mission like this one, son!”
Mr. Swift was referring to a Negro employee named Eradicate Sampson.
Although he had passed away when Tom was a small boy, the SKY-O-RAMA 157
young inventor remembered him with great affection.
“I’m glad we named our newest rockets after him, Dad,” Tom replied.
Bud had gone without sleep in the bustle of preparations for the probe launch. He remained on Fearing to nap in the crew’s dormitory, then flew back to Enterprises after lunch.
From the airfield, Bud jeeped to Tom’s lab, but the young inventor was not there. So Bud called the Swifts’ office in the main building. “I’m sorry,” Miss Trent said. “Tom has asked not to be disturbed except for an emergency.”
“Well, this isn’t one, so don’t bother him,” Bud said. “What’s the mad genius up to now?”
“He said he had some scriptwriting to do.”
Scriptwriting? Bud hung up, greatly intrigued. Later in the afternoon he noticed several TV camera crews shooting scenes around the plant.
“Wow!” murmured Bud as a sudden hunch hit him. “If I’m right, that doubting advertising exec in New York is in for a show that’ll change his mind!”
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