Tom Swift and the Electronic Hydrolung
out of his mind and concentrated on the job at hand
y this time, the fused blip had long since disappeared from the radarscopes, indicating
move, Tom?" Admi
results," Tom decided. "Suppose Bud and I fly bac
nd don't feel downhearted, son. You rate a Navy 'E' for the way you handled this ope
ged a grateful grin, in sp
took them to an aircraft carrier standing by in the vicini
ocessing. Tom, looking back from the soaring jet, could see one of the heli
g experimental station was a walled, four-mile-square enclosure with landing strips, work-shops, and l
re Tom shared a double office with his father. Bud sank down into one of the deep-cushion
ts at the press of a button. At one end of the room were the video screen and control board of the Swifts' private TV networ
or our search expediti
w cut. "Let's see. We'd better take
com buzzed. Miss Trent, the Swi
calling over
n the signal of his private telephone.
uter results," Mr. Swift re
tude and longitude figur
findings," Mr. Swift went on, "this area is a high plat
bout th
red and three hundred feet,
histle. "Luc
ift said cautiously. "The bot
ace. "In that case, we ma
short discussion, the elder scientist added, "I'll probabl
" Tom hung up and rep
water gear will we
"Guess we'll have to take along a var
inform his mother of his arrival. Mrs. Swift was sympathetic
locate it," she s
with a grin. As he put down the receiver a moment later, he told Bud,
is lips. "Le
e details, after which Tom phoned the underground hangar and the Swifts' rocket base at F
ports car and drove to the Swifts' big, pleasant house on the outskirts o
were beginning to think you
you and that fried chicken a
winkled. "I know it's the fried ch
hat 'we' you were refe
said in a mournful voice
rom the kitchen. Brown-eyed, with long dark hair, Phyl was the daughter of Tom Sr.'s o
ing, did you, Tom?" she said, laughing. "
oys about their infrequent dates, du
nd greeted Bud warmly. Over the delicious dinner, the
uld have fired i
an one unfriendly country which would give a l
more trouble, are you?
nd the two girls. But inwardly he was none too sure of what his survey
ved in many daring exploits and thrilling situations. Time and again, Tom had had to c
Pole, and in other adventures he had faced danger in the jungles of Africa, New Guinea, and Yucatan. His latest achievement, receiving the visitor from Planet X, had been t
mammoth, atomic-powered airplane had been Tom's first major invention. A three-deck craft, it was equipped with complete laboratory facilities
f the equipment, a foghorn voic
n Texas, Chow was now head chef on Tom's expeditions. As usual, a ten-gallon ha
o end all shirt
latest Western creation. The shirt seemed to be made of
ng fer an ocean jaunt," Chow added with
he rest of this gear
a barren stretch of sand dunes and scrub-grass, the island was now the Swifts' top-secret rocket laboratory, guarded by drone planes and radar. It
t a sleek, strange-looking c
enclosed central rotor, powered by atomic turbines, with reversible-pitch blades for air l
m and Bud. One was Hank Sterling, the blond, square-jawed chief pattern-making engineer of Enterprises. The other
nk radioed. "
" Tom r
Already on hand were ships of the Navy task force assigned by Admiral Walter to participate in the missile sea
as yet no sign of the lost Jupiter prober had been d
ng to Slim Davis, a Swift test pilot who was in the crew
eased into th
?" asked Doc Simpson, Swif
he undersea elevator, and then assemble
," Doc p
ly descended to the Sea Hound. The search
each climbed into a Fat Man suit and went out through the air lock. The suits, shaped like huge ste
piercing the murky gloom. They saw nothing but the deep accumul
alled over his sonarphone
actually pushed the ocean water away. The air supply inside was kept pure by one of
atform, also proved inadequate for the research job. It
itself is our best
try," T
its powerful search beam sweeping the ocean floor as it pr
Bud, we could skin-
it a whirl
ngs. Then they dropped over the side and made their way slowly downward into th
Tom thought. "If only we didn't
. A projectile, Tom realized! Turning, his eyes
tank had