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

"What's up?" Tom shouted, bursting out of the helicopter's cabin.
"Bud and Hank are alive-at least, one of them is!" Arv reported breathlessly
as the other men clustered around. "I just picked up a faint broadcast on the
ship's radio!"
CHAPTER VII
A DANGEROUS SEARCH
"YOU'RE SURE it was Bud or Hank?" Tom grabbed Hanson by the
shoulders.
"Positive! The signal was pretty feeble, and there was too much static to
recognize the voice. But it was one of our boys, all right! He must have used the
transmitter in his parachute gear!"
"What did he say?"
Arv's face clouded. "I couldn't make out too well, but it sounded something
like: 'Rare . . . like what you . . .' That's all I could understand. Then the signal
faded out completely."
"Did you try to call them back?" Tom asked eagerly.
"Sure. I've been trying ever since, but no response."
"Well, keep trying!"
As Hanson headed back to the Sky Queen, the other members of the rescue
expedition pelted Tom with questions about the results of his flight in the Skeeter.
"I doubt if any type of aircraft could make a landing in that storm area," Tom
told them. "Un-
49
50 ULTRASONIC CYCLOPLANE
less possibly," he added, with a thoughtful gleam in his eyes, "my new
cycloplane could do it."
"But that's in Shopton," Slim pointed out. "And it's not even ready yet."
"I know." The young inventor brooded silently for a moment.
Red Jones, flight crewman, spoke up. "If an air rescue of Bud and Hank is
out, what're we going to do?"
"Try reaching them overland," Tom decided. "Looks as if it's our only hope."
Unfortunately, the expedition's gear on board the Sky Queen included no
complete outfits for a long jungle hike. But Tom refused to be intimidated by this
obstacle.
"We'll get through, somehow," he told himself.
After consulting Hedron about possible hazards, he issued a number of
orders. Then the young inventor hurried aboard the Flying Lab and interrupted
Arv Hanson long enough to put through a radio call to Shopton.
"Any news, son?" Mr. Swift's voice came through the unscrambling device.
"Yes, and good news at that, Dad!" Tom quickly told his father about the
signal which Hanson had picked up. "But there's some bad news, too," he went
on. "We've spotted the place where Bud and Hank crashed, but there's no
chance of landing-or even trying an air pickup. That means we'll have to reach
them the hard way."
A DANGEROUS SEARCH 51
"Through the jungle?" The elder scientist's voice was tinged with worry.
"Right, Dad. We'll start out this afternoon."
"But, Tom, you're not equipped for a land search of that kind."
"I believe we can make out," Tom reassured him. "Anyhow, it's worth a try on
foot first. If we can't get through, I may have to use the cyclo-plane. In my