"Appleton, Victor - Tom Swift Jr 05 - And His Atomic Earth Blaster" - читать интересную книгу автора (Appleton Victor)

"I'm sure that the government would help out on the cost," said Tom.
"Especially if we invite their scientists to go along on the expedition."
"There's one other objection, Tom," his father put in. "Suppose you did strike
that molten iron. You'd have every government that ever staked a claim at the
South Pole insisting the ore belonged to them too."
Frowning, Tom got up and paced around the room.
"Well, Dad, that's a question the United States government would have to
settle. But one thing I'm sure of. No government that hasn't staked a claim at the
South Pole should be allowed to drill there!"
"You mean like Kranjov, for instance?" asked Sandy.
28 TOM SWIFT AND HIS ATOMIC BLASTER
"Right!"
At that moment there was a loud buzz, accompanied by a whining, growling
sound, as though a pack of watchdogs had suddenly caught a scent of danger.
"The alarm system!" cried Sandy, jumping up from her chair. "Someone must
be trying to break into the house!"
"You and Mother stay here!" Tom declared.
With the two older men, he made a dash to check on all doors and windows.
The entire house and grounds were surrounded by a magnetic field. Any
person entering this field automatically set off the alarm system, unless provided
with some kind of deactivator mechanism.
The Swift family and their friends all wore little neutralizer coils in their wrist
watches for this purpose. But prowlers or unexpected visitors unknowingly
always signaled their presence by touching off the alarm.
Next, Tom flicked a switch near the front door and immediately the grounds
were flooded by the glare of powerful spotlights, arranged to cover every bit of
the property. Tom had installed them after a previous burglary attempt.
"This should flush anybody hiding in the shrubbery," Tom said, poking
around the bushes with his father and Uncle Ned. The young inventor found
DANGER SIGNAL
29
several sets of footprints on the grass, but they faded out and led nowhere.
"Let's use the bloodhounds," Mr. Swift said.
The two dogs, Caesar and Brutus, were kept in kennels behind the garden.
Straining at the leash, under Tom's and his father's control, they made a
complete circuit of the house and grounds.
But even the bloodhounds failed to locate the intruder. Puzzled and uneasy,
Tom and the two older men returned to the house. Mrs. Swift and Sandra were
waiting for them in the den.
"Who was it?" asked Sandra.
"I don't know. He got away," Tom replied in a worried tone of voice.
When they resumed their interrupted conversa-

30 TOM SWIFT AND HIS ATOMIC BLASTER
tion, Uncle Ned asked for more details about Tom's plan.
A few minutes later they heard someone tapping on the study window! Mrs.
Swift gave a startled gasp.
"Take it easy, Mumsy." Tom laughed, hoping to reassure her. But he himself
felt uneasy as he got up to open the Venetian blind and look out.
The window tapper was Bud Barclay!