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

Bud glanced at him curiously. "What are you driving at, skipper?"
Tom raised a pair of binoculars and trained them on the balloon before
replying. "That box attached to the balloon-it doesn't look like the usual type of
radiosonde for sending weather signals. Let's get a closer look."
Easing off on the jet lifters, Bud sent the ship gliding forward. Then he
banked in a sharp spiral that brought the Sky Queen close to the object. The
balloon veered and fluttered in the rush of the plane's air stream, but Bud finally
maneuvered the Flying Lab to within twenty yards of it.
Again Tom studied the object as Bud held the
4 OUTPOST IN SPACE
ship steady with the jet lifters. "How about it?" asked the copilot.
"It's no weather balloon, that's sure."
Bud focused his own binoculars on the strange device, then lowered them
with a puzzled expression. "You're right. But what is it?"
"Bud, that balloon may be rigged for some kind of solar-battery test."
"What!" Bud exchanged startled glances with the young inventor.
"It's only a guess. But the equipment on the surface of the box certainly looks
that way."
"Roarin' rockets, that means someone else may get the jump on Swift
Enterprises before you put your model on the market!"
Tom shrugged ruefully. "There's no law against competition."
"Who do you suppose sent it up?"
"Search me." Tom settled back at the controls. "Well, whoever he is, I wish
him luck."
The giant bag was rising slowly-floating toward the upper levels of the
stratosphere. Then, without warning, the balloon burst, spattering parts of the
fabric over Tom's plane.
The instrument box plummeted downward, but a moment later a small
parachute opened to float it gently back to earth.
"Hey, let's go after it!" urged Bud excitedly. "Maybe we can find out whether
your hunch is right!"
DANGER IN THE SKY 5
Tom shook his head. "The persons making the experiment are probably
tracing the balloon by its signals. They'll be all set to retrieve the box when it
lands. And after all, it's their experiment."
"Guess you're right," Bud murmured in a disappointed voice. "Where to
now?" he added, as Tom sent the Sky Queen zooming upward in a steep climb.
"Back upstairs for another check on our own experiment," the young inventor
replied.
"Just make sure you don't steer us into that shimmy area again." Bud
chuckled. "I'll take those fast numbers on a regular dance floor."
Soon the altimeter needle was approaching the 85,000-feet mark again. By
this time, the giant jet plane had traveled a long way from the turbulent area, and
the air remained still and calm.
Tom set the ship on automatic stabilizer, then said to his copilot, "Keep an
eye on things. I'll go topside and take a reading."
Mounting a short steel ladder, Tom climbed into the astrodome. This was a
transparent blister above and behind the pilot's compartment. It was used for
observation and navigating on long flights.
Tom's new solar battery had been mounted in an aperture in the dome for