Appleton, Victor – Tom Swift Jr 24 – And His 3D Telejector

52 3-D TELEJECTOR

thought I’d be gazin’ down on ole mother earth from this high up when I was jest a Texas chuck-wagon cook!”

Bud chuckled and winked at Tom. “Well, this is one way to cut Texas down to size!”

Soon they were above the stratosphere. The dark immensity of space lay all about them, starred with glittering diamond points of light.

At 22,000 miles aloft, they came abreast of the space outpost. The twelve-spoked wheel bristled with antennas and latticework telescopes. From one of the spokes, polished mirrors gaped open like eyelids to focus sunlight onto the assembly line of Tom’s solar-charged batteries.

The Challenger sped through the void. In a while Nestria could be seen-a tiny cragged and cratered asteroid racing around the earth.

“How long will our flight take?” Bud asked.

“Approximately six hours,” Tom replied. “That’s at constant one-G

acceleration.”

A feeling of tension gripped everyone when the Green Orb finally came into view. Its thick, yellowish-green atmosphere gave it the look of a soft ball of cotton batting. Minute by minute, the mysterious object loomed larger.

“Do we plow through for a landing?” Hank asked.

Tom shook his head. “We’ll orbit first and take some instrument readings.”

As he conned the flight dials and swiveled the steering repelatrons, the ship gave a sudden lurch.

REVOLVING EARS 53

The Orb lit up with an intense glow. The compartment shone with its greenish brilliance!

“What in tarnation’s goin’ on?” Chow gulped.

“The Orb just reacted to our repelatron beam again,” Tom said. “We’ll have to steer by some other bodies.”