Tom Swift and His Jetmarine Read Online Free PDF Page B

seem they broke into the plant grounds."
    "Strange. It almost seems like an act of mischief."
    "Yeah, in fact—a prank!" A new thought had struck Tom. The capricious nature of the incident reminded him of his peculiar encounter with Sidney Dansitt. Could there be some connection between Dansitt, son of a shipping magnate, and the attacks on ocean vessels?
    Tom spent the afternoon reviewing the tapes of the pressure test, his father at his side in their shared office. The instrumental results disclosed not the slightest hint of any hull deformation or weakening, and microspectrometer readings confirmed that the Tomasite sheathing had been unaffected by the pressure, assuaging a major concern. The only negative result was a minor one, involving a slight compression of the dome sealant. A new sealant compound was already being applied to the jetmarine to rectify the flaw.
    "I’d say the jetmarine is ready to get its gills wet in the salty sea," Mr. Swift said, pride in his voice.
    "Her shakedown cruise is going to be in the Gulf of Mexico," declared the young inventor. "I’m itching to take a look at that ‘mystery spot’ off Cuba."
    Damon Swift nodded, suddenly thoughtful. "I know you are, son. And I think you should. But don’t demand miracles of yourself. Mrs. Sterling has accepted that Hank probably went down with the ship without regaining consciousness. The investigators feel certain that some sort of demand would have been made by now if he had been kidnapped."
    "Not that that will stop me."
    "Not that that will stop you," chuckled Mr. Swift, throwing an arm about his son’s shoulders.
    Tom and his father strolled out into the afternoon sunlight, where they were met by Bud Barclay. Bud gestured off toward the far airfield. "Planning another trip in the Sky Queen?" he inquired. The huge metal doors that covered the underground hangar had been opened to the sky, as they were when the Flying Lab’s berthing platform was about to be elevated to ground level.
    "No, Bud," Mr. Swift replied, "I just had them open the overhead doors to improve the air circulation while we’re replacing the sealant around the sub’s view-dome. The chemicals can be toxic in concentration."
    Suddenly Tom put a hand on his father’s forearm. "We have a visitor!"
    They had been hearing the subdued whine of a distant jet for several moments. Now the jet had tracked into view over the treeline, flying low and slow.
    Bud grimaced in disgust. "Don’t tell me!"
    "It’s Dansitt’s jet, all right," said Tom, shading his eyes against the sun.
    "He’s been officially warned away from this airspace," declared Mr. Swift angrily. "I’ll see him grounded!"
    The jet made a casual circle around the plant, not crossing the property line. Tom could imagine the control tower personnel sternly ordering him away—and Dansitt making arrogant, mocking replies.
    "He’s lowering something from the fuselage," Bud observed. A dark, streamlined object was now suspended beneath the cockpit. "Good night, he’s going in for a bombing run!"
    The jet had broken pattern and was streaking low, straight across the grounds of Swift Enterprises!
     
CHAPTER 5
A BOLO PUNCH
    THERE WAS HARDLY time to react. Tom stiffened as Dansitt’s jet shrieked over him, expecting an explosion. But in the back of his mind he also remembered his thoughts from earlier in the day. Could the device beneath the plane be, not a bomb, but the blackout-ray transmitter?
    Neither was the case. After its single low pass over the Enterprises airfield, Dansitt’s craft veered off and away, rapidly gaining altitude before it was lost to sight.
    "Can you beat that?" said Bud. "What’s that jerk up to?"
    "I’m afraid I know exactly what he’s up to," Mr. Swift responded. "I recognize the mechanism beneath the cockpit. It was the centerfold a few months ago in Invention & Technology ."
    "What is it, Dad?" asked Tom.
    "A new high-definition digital camera for aerial spying," answered Mr. Swift. "It