"Appleton, Victor - Tom Swift Jr 06 - And His Outpost In Space" - читать интересную книгу автора (Appleton Victor)

Swift, sent the great silver-winged Sky Queen nosing higher and higher into the
stratosphere.
"Relax, Bud. This ship can take it," replied the tall, blond young scientist. He
kept his deep-set blue eyes focused on the instrument panel.
The altimeter needle showed they were at a height of 85,000 feet-more than
sixteen miles up in the purplish black sky.
It was midday and Tom was flying the huge jet plane as high as he dared, in
order to test out his latest invention. This was a solar battery, to be charged by
the unshielded radiation of the sun.
During the trip Bud had been intently watching the differential pressure
gauge. The dark-haired young copilot knew that the pressurized plane was
2 OUTPOST IN SPACE
being subjected to a terrific bursting strain as the air outside grew thinner and
thinner.
Still the eighteen-year-old inventor kept the ship in a steady climb. Bud
frowned. "Don't say I didn't warn you!" he muttered nervously. "If this crate blows
up in our faces, we won't even-"
He broke off as the plane gave a violent lurch. There was a groan of tortured
metal and both boys were nearly flung out of their seats.
"What hit us? A meteor?" Bud gasped.
"Turbulent area," Tom replied, as the giant craft shuddered from stem to
stern.
It turned and twisted wildly in the buffeting winds. Together, the boys fought
to bring the plane under control.
"We'd better take her downstairs," Tom decided.
Throttling back on the jet engines to reduce the forward thrust, he began
guiding the ship earthward in wide, spiral turns. Tom had great faith in the
atomic-powered craft, which was capable of vertical climb or descent. The huge
three-decker Sky Queen, a completely equipped flying laboratory, had been
Tom's first major invention.
Several miles down, the ship reached a safe region of calm air. Tom flipped a
switch, pouring power into the jet lifters. Instantly the plane leveled off and
seemed to hang suspended in the stratosphere.
The flying companions stared at each other in silent relief. "Listen, chum,
don't scare me like that." Bud grinned. "My arteries can't take it."
DANGER IN THE SKY 3
"Sorry." Tom smiled back. "You know we're apt to run into those ghost winds
almost anywhere up
t "
here.
"When they blow at two hundred miles an hour, that's when / blow!" Bud
announced firmly. "Do you suppose this crate is still in one piece?"
"I'd better make sure."
Tom checked a number of gauges, then went off to inspect various pressure
points in other compartments. As he returned to report that the Sky Queen had
sustained no damage, he heard Bud exclaim:
"Jumpin' sky ghosts! What's that at ten o'clock?"
Glancing to the portside, Tom saw a large, silvery balloon floating some
distance away.
"Must be a weather balloon." Tom's eyes narrowed. "But I'm not so sure."