"Appleton, Victor - Tom Swift Jr 07 - And His Diving Seacopter" - читать интересную книгу автора (Appleton Victor)

contents of the mysterious message?
In vain, Tom pondered the question until the next day, when he turned his
attention to the center unit of the diving seacopter. The young inventor was not
fully satisfied with the performance of the rotor blades in a tank test.
"Perhaps," he mused, "the mechanism for changing the blade pitch could be
improved."
All morning and afternoon he worked on the problem, using a test chamber
to study the fluid-flow characteristics around various shapes and types of blades.
By four o'clock he had sketched out a new satisfactory design. The blade was
slightly more slender and squarer at the end than the old ones. He handed the
design over to Hank Sterling, the chief engineer of the Swifts' pattern-making
division.
"Have a new set of blades cast and machined
THE MYSTERIOUS MESSAGE 27
according to these drawings, will you, Hank?" he asked. "And tell Art
Wiltessa to stand by for some changes in the blade-pitch mechanism."
At home that evening Tom was poring over some oceanography charts in his
workroom when Bud Barclay dropped in for a visit.
"What cooks?" asked Bud, draping himself in a chair. "Are you mapping our
next cruise in the seacopter?"
"Not exactly. Just studying the profile of the Atlantic Ridge."
"Well, tell me about it. I'm as uninformed as a wooden horse when it comes
to undersea mountains."
"The Atlantic Ridge runs like a spine along the ocean floor, from up near
Iceland clear down between South America and Africa."
"And that's where your friends think we'll find the lost continent of Atlantis?"
asked Bud.
Tom nodded. "Some scientists don't take much stock in the theory. Others
are sure it's true. They claim that the ancient Egyptians, the Aztecs of Mexico,
and the Mayas of Central America all got their civilization from a lost land
somewhere in mid-Atlantic."
Bud stared at Tom keenly. "What's your guess, genius boy?"
The young inventor shrugged. "Hard to say till we get more evidence. But
take a look at this."
28 DIVING SEACOPTER
He pointed to a spot on the chart near the Cape Verde Islands. "Notice this
formation of underwater peaks?"
"Sure. What about them?"
"They could be more than just the upjuttings of a mountainside."
"Meaning what?" asked Bud, fascinated by the hint of mystery in Tom's
voice.
"I believe that they may be part of a city wall or great ceremonial grounds
with pyramids. This is where / think George Braun and Ham Teller ought to start
their search."
Bud bounced out of his chair excitedly. "Tom, on our next test of the
seacopter, why don't we go there and take a look?"
CHAPTER 4
A BLAST FROM SPACE
TOM GRINNED at his friend's enthusiasm. "Whoa! Slow down, boy! There's
a lot of work to be done yet before the seacopter will be ready for a long-distance