"Appleton, Victor - Tom Swift Jr 10 - And His Ultrasonic Cycloplane" - читать интересную книгу автора (Appleton Victor)

through a quick instrument checkoff. Then, after clearing with the control tower
and waving to the two girls, he gunned the nuclear engines. With a mighty roar
the Sky Queen shot straight up, then soared ahead.
Streaking across the continent at over twelve hundred miles an hour, Tom
and his companions saw a tapestry of farm land, cities, plains, and mountains
unroll beneath them. Then came the long flight across the billowing blue-green
waters of the Pacific.
Occasionally they passed over tiny ships trailing long wisps of smoke, or
tropic atolls ringed by coral reefs and breakers of foam. Almost ten hours after
leaving Shopton, the rescue party sighted New Guinea.
"We've outrun the sun," Arv Hanson commented.
Tom nodded, glancing at his watch. In the local time zone, it was only a few
minutes before three o'clock in the afternoon!
Flying inland over the enormous island, they sighted dismal swamps, dense
tropical rain forests,
RESCUE FLIGHT 35
and towering mountain ranges. At some points, the ground was cleared in
cultivated patches where the natives raised taro, yams, and vegetables. But most
of the terrain appeared wild and forbidding.
"Have you pin-pointed the spot where the crash occurred?" a voice behind
Tom asked.
Looking up from his map, he saw George Hedron entering the flight
compartment.
"Should be right about here, according to the position Bud gave." Tom
pointed toward the ground.
Hedron frowned doubtfully. "If Bud's instruments were going haywire, the
position he gave was probably way off."
Pointing just ahead, he called Tom's attention to the fact that the area was
blanketed by clouds. Hedron explained that fearful storms raged over this spot all
the time.
"I think a few miles beyond would be a better place to land. The clear valley
there will give us a chance to search in all directions. Besides," added the
zoologist, "it's directly in Bud and Hank's line of flight on their way back from the
gold fields."
"Okay, we'll try there first," Tom agreed.
Ten minutes later he swooped downward toward a rough clearing. Tom
switched on the jet lifters and allowed the Sky Queen to settle gently onto the
floor of the valley. There was no sign of habitation, but the land had definitely
been cleared by human hands.
36 ULTRASONIC CYCLOPLANE
The big ship had hardly touched ground when the hatch opened and the men
piled out. All were eager to explore the lush green surroundings.
"Sure didn't see no sign of any plane wreckage when we was comin' down,"
Chow reported gloomily.
"It might not be visible among the trees," Tom pointed out. "We'll split up into
twos and scout around."
Tom drew Slim Davis as a companion. Together, they struck eastward
through the forest. The air was spicy with the scent of tropical flowers, but insects
were a constant nuisance. Overhead, the cries of strange birds broke the quiet of
the jungle.