Tom Swift and The Visitor from Planet X Part 12

After forty-eight hours of round-the-clock work, the equipment was ready. Tom conferred by telephone with both Dr. Miles in the Bureau of Mines and Bernt Ahlgren in the Pentagon. He had already chosen the spots for the detector-transmitter check points.

Tom told the men that he believed the best spot for the Quakelizor itself was on a certain government reservation in Colorado. A deep underground cave there would provide a perfect site.

"We'll be close enough to the San Andreas fault to prevent a really huge-scale disaster," Tom explained. "And the Rocky Mountain structure will give us a good bedrock medium for shooting out waves anywhere across the continent."

Dr. Miles and Ahlgren agreed enthusiastically. Tom and the two scientists spoke over a three-way telephone hookup--with automatic scramblers to counter the danger of enemy monitors--laying plans to install the equipment. Ahlgren agreed to fly a technical crew out to the spot in Colorado which Tom had named.

The next day, Tom, Hank, and several top Enterprises' engineers, including Art Wiltessa, took off in the _Sky Queen_. This was Tom's huge atomic-powered Flying Lab. The ma.s.sive plane flew at supersonic speeds and was equipped with jet lifters for vertical take-off or hovering.

A Whirling Duck heliplane, loaded with communications equipment, accompanied the _Sky Queen_. In little more than an hour, the two craft touched down in a rugged Colorado canyon. The government technical crew was already on hand.

"Glad to know you," Tom said, shaking hands with the engineer in charge.

He introduced his own men and added, "Better roll up your sleeves. This job is going to take plenty of oomph!"

The parts of the Quakelizor were unloaded from the _Sky Queen_ onto dollies. Then the group, armed with bull's-eye lanterns, flashlights, and walkie-talkies, hauled the parts by tractor into the cave.

"Okay. Now let's pick out the spot for embedding the unit," Tom said.

The men had no sooner begun to look around the huge underground chamber when a fearsome growl rumbled through the cave. Everyone whirled about and the next instant froze in horror.

A huge bear reared up in the mouth of the cave! The monster snarled and blinked its yellow eyes in the glare of lights.

"We're trapped!" Hank cried out.

The enormous bruin was now waving his huge head from side to side, as if daring the intruders to step up and fight.

Several of the government men had brought rifles and shotguns. But in spite of their peril, no one wanted to shoot the handsome old fellow.

"I'll send out an SOS," Tom said. "If help arrives before the bear attacks, we won't use guns."

He radioed the local Forest Ranger post. After a nerve-racking wait, with the group expecting a charge from the beast at any minute, two rangers appeared and captured the bear with a net. One man of the government work crew knocked together a stout wooden cage. The beast, outraged, was loaded aboard the heliplane to be released in an area remote from the cave.

[Ill.u.s.tration (Tom and Hank meet a bear in the cave)]

Now the grueling job of installing the Quakelizor began. First the cave was cleared of debris, bats, and other small living creatures. Then a site was marked out on the cave floor. Tom had brought along a midget model of his great atomic earth blaster, which he had invented to drill for iron at the South Pole.

With the blaster, Tom quickly drilled a pit of exact size into the bedrock. Then the Quakelizor was a.s.sembled and lowered into place by a portable crane. A power plant and radio antenna were set up and the installation was finally completed.

"I must return to Shopton now," Tom said. "Art here will stick around and help you operate the setup," he told the government engineers after radio contact had been made with Was.h.i.+ngton. "If anything goes wrong, just flash word to Enterprises."

The _Sky Queen_ and the heliplane sped back across the continent. As Tom landed at Enterprises he was greeted by Bud, who came speeding out on the airfield by jeep.

"Just got back from the s.p.a.ce wheel about an hour ago," Bud said. "Your dad's really worried about those exploding radio sets, Tom. He has no clues, but he's sure the scientists working for the Brungarian rebel setup are responsible. He thinks they may try to ruin all of Enterprises' communications system by remote control."

Tom's face was grave as he listened. The two boys discussed the problem as they drove to the Swifts' office in the main building.

"Boy, I sure wish I could think of some way to cope with it," Tom said wearily, flopping down in his desk chair.

"Your dad said to give it the old college try," Bud reported. "And he also said he'd be back in two days to help you on the problem."

Tom glanced at the calendar. "Which reminds me," he said, "on Monday the brain energy will be due from s.p.a.ce!"

The thought sent a thrill of excitement tinged with worry through the young inventor's mind. Would the container he had devised prove suitable?

"Hey! A call on the videophone!" Bud pointed to the red light flas.h.i.+ng on the control board. He jumped up and switched on the set.

Blake, the Was.h.i.+ngton announcer, appeared on the screen.

"Bad news, skipper," he said ominously. "An earthquake tremor was just felt here in Was.h.i.+ngton. It centered in a s.h.i.+pyard on the Potomac and caused great damage!"

CHAPTER X

ENERGY FROM PLANET X

Tom and Bud listened in dismay as Blake reported all the details he had been able to gather.

"Was my Quakelizor a flop, Bud?" Tom muttered, his shoulders drooping as the announcer signed off. "It must have been!"

"Don't be silly! Snap out of it!" Bud gave his pal a cheerful poke in the ribs, hoping to buck him up. "You heard what Blake said--Was.h.i.+ngton itself was hardly touched. Without your setup, think of all the people that _might_ have been killed or injured! And all the government buildings that might have been wrecked, maybe even the White House. I'd say your shock-wave deflector must have been at least ninety per cent effective!"

Tom brightened somewhat on hearing Bud's words. He picked up the phone, and placed a call to Dr. Miles at the Bureau of Mines. It was almost half an hour before the operator was able to get a line through. But Tom felt the suspense had been worth while when Dr. Miles exclaimed:

"Tom, it was a miracle you completed the Quakelizor installation in time! In all probability it saved us from a major national disaster, perhaps worse than Pearl Harbor!"

Tom felt a glow of pride and relief. "Thanks, sir. But what about the s.h.i.+pyard destruction?" he added, still not entirely convinced.

"That was a bad break, Tom," Dr. Miles admitted. "Our detectors showed that the shock waves had been almost damped out when a sudden power failure occurred. It turned out that an overload had shorted the Quakelizor's power plant. The crew had it fixed within moments, but by that time the damage was done."

Tom winced as he heard of the unfortunate accident, but was thankful the results had been no worse.

Miles went on to say that he had just been conferring with Ahlgren at the Pentagon. The Defense Department now feared that attempts might be made against other large cities and was therefore eager to have Tom deliver several quake deflectors as soon as possible. These would be installed at strategic points around the country.

"The government heads were so impressed with your invention, Tom," Dr.

Miles added, "that they'll probably be walking the floor anxiously until the others arrive."

Tom chuckled, then became serious. "Tell them we'll go to work right away," he informed the seismologist. "I'll have the new Quakelizors ready as soon as possible, but you'd better warn your a.s.sociates it's bound to take a few days."

As soon as the conversation was completed, Tom dialed Ned Newton at the Swift Construction Company. Although he was actually not a relative of the Swifts, both Tom and Sandy had from childhood called him "Uncle Ned."

"What's up, Tom?" he asked.

Tom told him of the latest request from Was.h.i.+ngton and asked that another three-s.h.i.+ft work schedule be set up to turn out the additional Quakelizors.

"Hank and I will bring the blueprints over right away, if you don't mind being late to dinner," Tom said.