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

The sudden yell of warning came from Hank Sterling on the other side of the
workbench. As he spoke, he flicked off the master switch on the electrical control
panel.
Glancing down, Tom saw a jagged tongue of fire dart up his shop apron. A
second later the whole apron front burst into flames.
"Smokin' rockets!" gulped Bud.
Hank vaulted over the workbench to help Tom beat out the flames. But Bud
acted even quicker.
Grabbing the laboratory fire extinguisher off the wall, he upended the tank
and sprayed Tom with a lather of chemical foam which instantly doused the
flames.
"Th-thanks, Bud-and you too, Hank!"
Shuddering with relief, the young scientist sank down on a laboratory stool
and pulled off his helmet. Hank and Bud followed suit.
"Whew! A close call!" Tom muttered, managing a sickly grin. His face was
pale and clammy with perspiration. Hank helped him remove the blackened
remains of his shop apron.
"Sure you're all right, pal?" Bud demanded anxiously. Tom nodded and Bud
chuckled. "I
THE WEIRD FIGURE 3
always knew your inventions were hot stuff, genius boy, but not that hot!"
The stocky, dark-haired youth heaved a sigh. "All kidding aside. What made
your apron catch fire?" Bud asked in a puzzled voice.
"The ultrasonic waves," Tom replied ruefully. "All that concentrated energy
heated the cotton fabric right up to the kindling point. I told you these high-
frequency vibrations were dangerous!"
"Want to go on with the test, skipper?" asked Hank.
Tom shook his head. "Not now, Hank-I've had it for this morning. Before we
do any more work on the ultrasonic generator, we'd better have some fireproof
suits made of asbestalon."
"I'll take care of it pronto!" Hank promised.
The phone rang. Tom scooped up the receiver. "Tom Swift Jr. speaking."
"This is Dad, son," came a quiet voice over the line. "I've just had some
interesting news. Can you come over to the office?"
"Sure thing, Dad-right away!"
After cleaning up a bit and changing his jersey, Tom hurried out of the
laboratory and hopped into a jeep. Gunning the engine, he threw in the clutch
and went roaring off across the grounds of Swift Enterprises.
This four-mile-square enclosure, crisscrossed with airstrips, was the
experimental station where the famous father-and-son team of scientists
developed their new inventions.
A few minutes later Tom strode into the big
4 ULTRASONIC CYCLOPLANE
modernistic office in the main building, which he shared with his father.
In addition to the huge desks, drawing board, and comfortable leather lounge
chairs, the office contained models of many of the Swifts' greatest inventions.
Among them were a silver, needle-nosed replica of Tom's Star Spear, the rocket
ship in which he had pioneered a successful journey into outer space, and a blue
plastic model of the jetmarine, a craft which he had used in hunting down a ring
of undersea pirates.