前言

秘方简介

常用词列表

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

CHAPTER I

THE NEW PROJECT 项目

Tom Swift appeared to be calm 镇定的, although in reality 现实 he was about as excited over his latest invention 发明 as he ever had been about anything in his life.

"I'm sure it's going to work, Ned!" he said eagerly 渴望的 to his chum as they neared Tom's private laboratory 实验室. "With my new device 设备 I hope to learn more about the planets 行星. I want to start soon—"

"Listen here!" broke break in Ned Newton. "If you're thinking of going to Mars or the moon, just count me out! I've gone with you to many strange places and have never kicked 踢. But this—"

"Hold on, young fellow!" interrupted 打断 the youthful 青春的 inventor 发明家 with an amused 使人发笑 chuckle 暗笑. "I've nothing like that in mind YET! All I want to do is show you my new 'space eye.'"

"Can't say as I like that word 'yet,'" Ned muttered 咕哝 darkly. "But I'll take a look at your new jigger if you'll promise not to shoot me through space in a rocket 火箭 or cannon 大炮-ball!"

"Word of honor I won win't," promised Tom, crossing his heart with mock 嘲笑 solemnity. "Well, here we are."

The two boys had reached the laboratory 实验室, a small building at the rear 后 of the spacious 宽敞 lawn 草坪 surrounding Tom's father's home and close to the extensive 广阔的 work of the Swift Manufacturing Company at Shopton.

"I'll bet these shelves have more scientific apparatus 仪器 on 'em than any other shelves in the world," remarked Ned, as his chum opened the door.

Various cabinets 内阁 containing hundreds 百 of chemicals 化学 stood about. Against one wall was a huge 巨大 transformer 使彻底改观；使大变样, from which the youthful 青春的 scientist 科学家, Tom Swift, could draw almost any kind of electric current he might desire.

"Here goes!" said the young inventor 发明家.

He rolled back a small rug 小块地毯 in the middle of the floor to expose 暴露 a massive 大规模的 steel 钢 trap 陷阱；诱骗 door. This he unlocked 开锁 by twirling the dial 拨号 of a complicated 使复杂化 mechanism 机制. Some years before Tom had constructed 构造 beneath 之下 his laboratory 实验室 an impregnable chamber 室 to safe‧guard 保障 his secret plans. He called it his Chest 胸部 of Secrets, and guarded it well.

Even Ned Newton, Tom's closest friend and business associate 关联, did not know the entire contents of the massive 大规模的 vault 拱顶. Only Tom and his father were aware 知道的 of all the inventions 发明 concealed 隐藏 there.

"Some of these inventions must not be known to the world in its present state," the elder 年长的 man had said.

One of them was the terrible electric death-ray 光束, cap‧able 能 of destroying anything in its path 小路. Only if the United States should be invaded 入侵 by an enemy power, would this be revealed 揭示.

"Here it is," said Tom, joining his chum after a few minutes spent spend in the vault 拱顶.

He was carrying a small wooden 木制的 box which he placed on the desk and opened. If Ned, as he leaned lean over eagerly, expected to see anything astonishing 使惊讶 he was disappointed 使失望. Resting on the velvet 丝绒 lining was simply a round disk 磁盘 of a greenish substance 物质 perhaps six inches in diameter 直径. This was mounted 增加 in a gleaming 闪光 metal ring from the edges of which there projected 项目 five electric binding posts.

" Funny 有趣的 kind of an eye," observed Ned. "You can't even see through it."

"You'll soon see through it, all right," retorted 反驳 Tom, laying the disk 磁盘 on his desk and connecting 连接 four dry cells 细胞 to the binding posts. He placed a small rheostat in the circuit 电路 so that the strength of the current might be regulated 调节.

Slowly he moved the little handle over the graduated 毕业 dial 拨号. A minute passed during which, so far as Ned could see, nothing happened. Without warning the green crystal 水晶 suddenly glowed 辉光 brightly for a fraction 分数 of a second, then could not be seen at all. The polished 擦光 ring of metal in which it had been mounted alone remained.

"It's gone!" cried Ned in bewilderment. "I can see your desk top right through where it was!"

"No," smiled the inventor 发明家, "it's still there as you'll find if you try to poke 戳 your finger through the metal ring."

A trifle 琐事 gingerly 生姜 his chum extended his hand toward the circle of metal. Though Tom had assured 向…保证；肯定地说 him that the little disk 磁盘 was still in place, Ned was unable 无法 to repress 抑 a start when his finger touched a cool, polished surface which his eyes told him could not be there.

"Say, that's wonderful 精彩!" he exclaimed 喊叫, staring at the invisible 无形 substance 物质 with awe 威严. "That stuff 塞满；材料 must be a hundred 百 times more trans‧parent 透明 than the finest plate 盘子 glass!"

"Yes, and more," said Tom. "But that's not the most wonderful 精彩 feature 特征 of the new substance."

"What, then?"

"Well, it's difficult to explain. Even now I know very little about it. I can tell you WHAT it can do, but the WHY is still as much of a mystery as ever. Briefly 短时间地, this new element 元件, or maybe it's a compound 组合, I'm not sure which, reacts 反应；作出回应；有不良反应；产生反应 in a very strange manner to light. Let me show you. That'll beat any long-winded theory 理论 I could spout."

Going to the door, Tom called in his giant 巨人 servant 仆人 Koku, who once had been a prince 王子 in his own far-off savage 野蛮人 land, before Tom Swift had brought him to Shopton.

"What want, Master?" came a deep-toned 音 reply, as the huge 巨大 dark-skinned 皮 man, who stood a trifle 琐事 over eight 八 feet in height 高度, entered.

"Just carry outside that telescope 望远镜 there in the corner," requested Tom, pointing to the instrument. "Better be careful 小心; it's a bit 一点 heavy."

"Not heavy for Koku," boomed 繁荣 the giant. "Liftum in one hand!"

Though it was not a large instrument as telescopes 望远镜 go, this one, with the massive 大规模的 iron 铁器 pier 码头 upon which it was mounted, weighed 称重 not far from four hundred 百 pounds. When Koku clamped 钳 his mighty 威武 hand about the stand he seemed to lift it as easily as a boy might raise a base‧ball 棒球 bat 蝙蝠 or a golf 高尔夫球 club.

"I'll never get used to his strength," murmured 私语 Ned as the boys followed the giant 巨人 through the laboratory 实验室 door, Tom carrying his marvelous 奇妙 green disk 磁盘.

"He is a big boy, for fair," laughed Tom. "Lucky 幸运 for our prize 奖赏-fighters 战斗机 he hasn't gone into the ring."

After carefully 小心 placing the telescope 望远镜 where the inventor 发明家 directed, Koku returned to the bench 长凳 under a near-by apple 苹果 tree where it was his wont 惯于 to rest when he was not needed.

"Now what, Tom?" questioned Ned. "Surely you're not expecting to see stars in broad day‧light 日光?"

"Oh, no, though it could be done," returned Tom, pointing the instrument toward the crest 波峰 of a wooded hill several miles distant 遥远的 from Shopton. "Now we're ready. Take a peek 窥视."

"Well," said Ned, peering 窥视 into the eye‧piece 眼睛‧块, "all I see are a few trees."

"Just stand by," directed his friend, clamping 钳 his green disk 磁盘 over the front lens 镜片, or objective 目的, of the telescope 望远镜 and turning on the current. As before, the green stuff 塞满；材料 seemed to vanish 消失. "Now, look again," he said.

No sooner had Ned put his eye to the instrument than he gave a start. "It's magic 魔法!" he exclaimed 喊叫. "Why, that hill seems as if it were right here and the view is much brighter. I can see every leaf 叶子 on the trees and—yes! even a bird's nest （鸟）窝 and the little birds in it!"

"Now maybe you have an idea as to how I propose to discover the secret of life on the planets," responded 响应 Tom calmly 镇定的.

"The secret? What do you mean? Surely you don't expect to see men on Mars!"

"I mean to build a telescope 望远镜 with a space eye big enough and powerful 强大 enough to do it!" The young inventor 4's face lit up with a strange light. "It's the greatest thing yet, Ned!"

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CHAPTER II

SUSPICIONS

"Yes," said Ned dubiously 可疑, "if you can do it. Oh, I'll admit that your invention 发明 improves a telescope 望远镜 marvelously 奇妙. But to see life on another world, millions of miles away—well, that sounds like a pretty tall order even for you, Tom Swift!"

"Let's go back in the lab 实验室 and I'll tell you more about the project 项目."

Tom directed Koku to carry the telescope 望远镜 inside. As the three walked back, the giant 4 suddenly gave a yell 叫喊.

"Quick, Master!"

With that the servant 仆人 let go the big instrument, placing it with a thud none too gently on the hard ground grind. In a bound 必定；跳 he was off. Tom and Ned caught catch a glimpse 一瞥 of someone just disappearing 不见 around the edge of the building. Had the stranger sneaked 潜行 into the laboratory 实验室 while Koku's back was turned?

"I hope the space eye isn't smashed 粉碎!" exclaimed 喊叫 Tom, examining the instrument. "Or the telescope 望远镜 lens 镜片."

Anxiously Ned waited as his chum detached 分离 the green disk 磁盘 and held it up.

"I—I guess it's O.K.," said Tom at length. "I'll test it in the lab 实验室 and see."

At this moment Koku reappeared 再现, saying the intruder 侵入者 had vanished 消失. Moreover, he was very contrite about having handled the telescope 望远镜 roughly. In a few seconds the fears of the three vanished 消失. Put to the electric test, the disk 磁盘 was found to be all right.

"Who do you suppose was sneaking 潜行 around here?" asked Ned.

"No telling," replied Tom. "But nothing seems to be missing," he added, glancing 一瞥 around.

"I hope you're right," said Ned. "Now tell me more about this green disk 磁盘. How did you happen to discover the stuff?"

"As to just what it is," replied the other slowly, "I'm not sure yet. When I analyzed 分析 it, I found a substance absolutely new to chemistry 化学."

"Where did you get it?" asked Ned.

"I scraped 擦 it from that meteorite 陨石 down in Koku's country in South America."

Ned whistled 吹口哨. "Ever since we found that thing which we called a planet 行星 stone, you've been discovering all sorts of things about it."

"Right now I hope to revolutionize 革命化 the field of astronomy 天文学 with it," said Tom.

"Tell me more about this wonderful 精彩 green substance."

"It may be a new compound 组合 or it may be an unknown 未知 element 元件. Anyway 无论如何, in experimenting with it I found that heat and electricity 电力 both change the stuff. The former has an apparently 据…所知；看来；据说；听说 permanent 永久 effect, while an electric current, as you saw, alters 改变 it only temporarily 暂时."

"Why didn't you make a big disk 磁盘? Then you could have tested your theory 理论 right away," stated Ned Newton.

"For two good reasons," replied Tom, opening a drawer 抽屉 and taking out a small vial filled with yellow powder 粉. "I wasn't sure it would improve a telescope 望远镜 for one thing, and this is the other." He handed the bottle to Ned. "This is all I have on hand of the new stuff."

"'X,'" murmured 私语 Ned, reading the label 标签. "But this powder isn't green. And why the X?"

"When the stuff is melted 熔化 and then cooled it changes color," explained Tom. "As for the X, if you remember your algebra 代数 you know that letter stands for the unknown 未知 quantity 量."

"Too bad you can't make a huge 巨大 green disk 磁盘."

"Don't worry about that," smiled his friend. "I'll soon have plenty of the powder. You haven't forgotten forget how the natives 本土的 of Giant 5 Land feared the meteorite 陨石 and insisted 咬定 that we take it away. It seems, however, that we got but a small piece of it. Evidently when it struck strike the ground the thing split 分裂, the heavier portion 一部分；一份 burying 埋葬 itself 本身 deep in the earth while the part we found remained near the surface.

"About six weeks ago Koku got a letter from his brother, King Amo of Giant Land, telling of an earthquake 地震 which caused the upheaval 动荡 of the huge 巨大 stone. His people think we are great magicians 魔术师 or else witch 巫婆 doctors, and Amo wrote begging 乞讨 us to take the meteorite 陨石 from his land. Of course, I was only too glad 高兴的 to oblige 责成 'em."

"Then you plan going to South America—"

" Bless 祝福 my pass‧port 护照, but I'm glad to hear that!" exclaimed 喊叫 a voice from the open door‧way 门口. "It seems as if I'm just in time!"

"Mr. Damon!" cried both boys together.

A jolly 欢乐-looking, rather portly 港口 gentle‧man 先生 entered, swinging his cane 甘蔗 excitedly. Tom and Ned gave him a warm welcome, for he was a friend of long standing and had accompanied 陪 them on many an expedition 远征 to remote 远程 quarters of the globe 地球.

"Come in," invited Tom. "Sit down, Mr. Damon, and tell us the news."

"And what was it you were so tickled 痒痒 to hear just now?" added Ned.

"I'll tell you," said the rather eccentric 偏心 man, for once forgetting to bless 祝福 something. "I'm in trouble, boys, and I need your help."

"You know we'll do anything we can, Mr. Damon," Tom assured him. "Just what is the difficulty?"

"My wife," said the caller glumly. "She's the trouble."

On hearing this both boys experienced no little difficulty in keeping their faces straight. Although Mrs. Damon was a fine woman in many ways, she was inclined 倾斜 to be very domineering where her husband was concerned. Ever since Tom Swift had rescued 营救 the man from a band of kidnapers, Mrs. Damon had had a great liking for the youthful 青春的 scientist 科学家. Yet she felt that her husband should remain quietly at home with her and not go off on any wild trips, as the good lady called them.

"But I don't see—well, suppose you explain," suggested Tom.

"My wife wants me to go on a week-end house party with her next Friday and I detest 'em. Bless 3 my headache pills 丸, but it's enough to drive a man distracted 转移. Now, I heard you boys talking about South America as I came in and I want to go along!"

"Well, Mr. Damon, if we were going South you know I'd be only too pleased to have you a member of the party. But Ned and I were merely talking about a shipment 装船 of freight 货物 I'm expecting from Giant Land."

"Koku's country?" asked Mr. Damon, some‧what 有些 astonished 使惊讶. "I thought Ambolata was still unknown 未知 to commerce 商业. Bless my bill-of-lading 小伙子, if the world isn't moving faster than I thought!"

Tom smiled. "I had to arrange for an expedition 远征 through the consular office at Buenos Aires to get what I want. It seems we didn't receive all of that strange meteorite 陨石 even with the help of your magic 魔法 wig 假发."

Even Mr. Damon had to laugh when he recalled 召回 the ludicrous 滑稽的 situation in which he had been placed in the jungles 丛林 of South America. Surrounded by savages 野蛮人, he had absent 缺席的-mindedly taken off his wig 假发, thereby 从而 frightening 使惊恐 the simple natives half out of their wits 风趣. They had thought he could scalp 头皮 himself at will. Nevertheless 虽然, this action had saved the lives of Tom Swift and his party, ultimately 最终 enabling 启用 them to escape when the giants 巨人 turned against them.

"Ah, those were the days, Tom," sighed 叹 the eccentric 偏心 man, "those were the days! Even if you're not going off to the wilds, maybe you might give me some kind of a job here so that my wife can't drag 拖拽 me off to that house party. I feel it in my very bones 骨头 that old Hiram Leatherby will be there and he ALWAYS singles me out to talk about his fossil 化石 collection!"

"I can sympathize 同情 with you," muttered 咕哝 Ned. "Mr. Leatherby used to be a director in the bank where I worked before Tom made me his business manager, and I've often thought he was a bit 一点 fossilized himself!"

"Well, Mr. Damon, I'll see what can be done," promised Tom.

"Good!" came an enthusiastic 热情 exclamation. "Bless my cup of tea 茶水, I'm counting on you!"

"In the mean‧time 其时, why don't you go up to the house and have our house‧keep 管家, Mrs. Baggert, make you a cup of tea? Stop in the library and see Dad 爸. He's been working too hard lately 近来 on his electrical 电动 book and he needs company."

"I will, Tom. Your father is a mighty 威武 fine man. Oh, my goodness 善良! Bless my poor memory, Tom, but I had some news for you. Good or bad I don't know, but I feel uneasy 不安 about it."

"Tell us what it is," suggested the young inventor 5.

"It's a rather odd 奇 thing. You see, last evening I was reading my paper on the porch 门廊 when two men called on me. Said they were long-lost relatives—cousins, or something of the sort—just back from a stay in South Africa. They seemed nice enough fellows, but bless my family tree, I had never heard of 'em! At any rate, they seemed to know a good deal about the Damon family and so I asked them to dinner. What got me thinking something might not be right was the way those chaps 皴裂 tried to pump 泵 me about you, Tom."

" Pump you?" asked young Swift, a puzzled 使迷惑 look on his face. "About what?"

"Glass," said the eccentric 偏心 character promptly 敏捷的. "Some kind of glass. Bless my wind‧shield 风‧盾-wiper 擦, what was it? Oh, yes! Flexible glass, that was it."

Tom and Ned exchanged startled 惊吓 glances 一瞥. For many months experiments directed toward the production of a glass as bend‧able 弯曲‧能够的 as rubber 橡胶 had been going forward in the Swift plant. Every possible pre‧caution 预防 had been taken to cloak 披风 the work in deepest secrecy 保密, yet somewhere evidently 明显地 a leak 泄漏 had developed among Tom's employees.

"Are these men still at your home, Mr. Damon?" asked Ned, a worried look on his face.

"No, they left after dinner. Mr. Brown said they had some important business up state. Is this glass business some new invention 发明, Tom?"

"I hope it will be. So far my experiments haven't turned out successfully 顺利. But I can't understand how anyone outside our plant could have known about them."

Mr. Damon could tell little more about his self 自己-styled 样式 relatives. After giving a description of the two men he took his leave. The boys were rather worried about the information he had brought along.

"It's not so much the glass," said Tom, "for we don't know if it will be a success. What bothers 烦 me is the idea of there being a traitor 叛徒 in the shops. I thought we had weeded 杂草 out all unscrupulous employees."

"The Apex Glass Works are located 定位 in Portville," said Ned, struck with an idea, "fifty 五十 miles north of here. Mr. Damon's visitors 访问者 claimed to have business up state. To my mind that's more than a coincidence 巧合, especially since the Apex people would give their back teeth to get hold of your formula 方法／规则, Tom!"

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CHAPTER III

AN ACCIDENT 意外事件

"Oh, I think you're letting your imagination 想像力 run away with you, Ned," grinned 微笑 Tom. "I know Mr. Stern, the president of Apex, very well, and I'm positive 正 that he wouldn't stand for any underhanded tactics 战术."

"I hope you're right," said his business manager. "But you know better than anyone else how unscrupulous gangs 结伙 have tried to steal your inventions. At first it was Happy Harry the tramp 流浪汉, and the last was Doctor Bane. No telling how many thugs 暴徒 were after you and your father in between. You'd be wise 明智的；聪明的 to get some extra 额外的 guards."

"I think Koku is well able to handle any intruder 侵入者," declared Tom confidently 确信的. "Besides, I think you're getting excited over nothing. You know Mr. Damon is inclined 倾斜 to make mountains out of molehills."

"That's all very well," persisted 坚持 his friend stubbornly 倔强, "but just suppose Mr. Damon is right in his suspicions 怀疑? It'd be too late then to do anything about it."

"Don't worry, old man. My Chest 胸部 of Secrets will hold its contents secure 安全 against any burglar 窃贼's attack. Now it's late. You'd better stay to dinner. Afterward, if you care to and have no other date, we can talk over some unfinished 未完成 business."

"Thanks, Tom. I'll be glad to spend the evening with you."

Locking up the laboratory 实验室, the two boys walked leisurely 悠闲 through the warm June twilight 暮 toward the big white house. Low in the sky hung the silvery crescent of the new moon, while almost over‧head 高架 Mars glowed 辉光 brightly.

"There's our goal 目标, Ned," murmured 私语 Tom, pointing to the red planet 行星. "I feel sure that our meteorite 陨石 came from that far-off world!"

"Granting that it did come from another planet," objected Ned, "I don't get the reason why you're so sure it came from Mars. There are nine 九 planets circling the sun, including the earth. Ruling out the sun, it seems to me that there is but one chance in eight 八 that you are right."

"If it were simply a matter of chance, there'd be a lot of weight behind your argument 论据, Ned. But a lot of other factors 因子 enter the problem. I should say that the only planets where life as we know it might exist are Mars and Venus. The latter I ruled out, for astronomers 天文学家 have found that it is for‧ever 永远 covered thickly with dense 稠密 clouds. Thus the inhabitants 居民, if any, must be ignorant 愚昧 of any world but their own."

"What have people on the planets got to do with the question, anyhow 总之?" asked Ned. "Huge 巨大 chunks 块 of metal break off of any heavenly 神圣的 body and go hurtling through space. The inhabitants 居民 don't throw them off!"

"But our meteor was no ordinary one as we have proved already," replied Tom. "I firmly believe that someone on another planet deliberately 故意 fired that missile into space, hoping it would reach this world. Since scientists 科学家 agree that Mars probably is inhabited 居住于 by a highly intelligent 智能 race, that planet is a reasonable guess."

"Whew!" whistled Ned. "Such ideas are beyond me."

As he finished speaking, the boys reached the Swift residence 住宅. The young inventor's father had built the hand‧some 英俊 white house many years before his son was born bear. Beyond were the several buildings where the inventions of Tom Swift and his father, Barton Swift, were manufactured.

Of recent years the latter had not been active, but had put the affairs in the hands of his cap‧able 能 son Tom, ably assisted 帮助；协助；援助 by Ned Newton. The older man now spent most of his time writing scientific books and articles.

The boys washed as quickly as possible so as not to delay 延迟 dinner, for both possessed 拥有 healthy 健康 appetites 食欲. Joining Mr. Swift in the library, they found him and Mr. Damon deep in a game of chess 棋.

"Check!" cried Tom's father triumphantly 凯, moving his king. "Got you again, Damon!"

"Bless my pawns 典当 and castles 城堡!" exclaimed 喊叫 the eccentric 偏心 gentle‧man 先生. "You've won three straight games!"

" Hello 哈喽, Dad 爸!" said Tom suddenly. "I see you're up to your old tricks 哄骗；诀窍!" In spite 恶意 of his bantering tone 音 the young inventor was pleased that his father was relaxing 放松 in a friendly game.

"Your father shouldn't be in the amateur 业余 class any more, Tom!" Mr. Damon grumbled 叽 playfully 调皮. "Bless my trophy 杯 cup, but I'm afraid to play with him!"

"Better luck next time," consoled 安慰 Mr. Swift, a twinkle 眨眼 in his eye.

Mr. Damon left, refusing an invitation 邀请 to dinner and saying that he had to take his car to a garage 车库 for a minor 次要 repair 修理 job before starting for his home in Waterford, a near-by town.

"How goes it with you, son?" asked Mr. Swift when Tom returned from seeing his guest to the door. "Your new space eye, as you call it—is it working out?"

"I think so, Dad 爸, but wait until I get the big model built!"

"Genmens, dinnah am serbed!" An old negro thrust 推力 his white-fringed 边缘 head through the library door. "An' it sho' am good!" Eradicate Sampson, so-called for his work in younger days of eradicating 根除 dirt from the homes of Shopton, had been attached 连接 to the Swift house‧hold 家庭 for many years and now regarded himself as one of the family.

As they sat sit at table the conversation of the three turned naturally 自然地 to Tom's latest invention 3. Mr. Swift had not heard yet all Tom's ideas of the proposed telescope 望远镜 and was full of eager 渴望的 questions.

"Just how long do you think it will take to make your big disk 磁盘, son?" asked Mr. Swift. "That is, if you find any more of the new material."

"The meteorite 陨石 is already on board a north- bound 必定；跳 freight 货物 steamer 蒸汽," answered Tom, "and ought to get here within the next ten 十 days. It'll require at least three weeks to extract 提取 all the X and cast 投 it into shape. Taking everything into consideration 考虑, I should say it will be at least six weeks before we can test the device 设备. The matter depends entirely on finding a lot of X in the planet stone. But I'm sure I shall."

After dinner the boys went over to the main office of the Swift Construction 施工 Company to clear up a number of routine 惯例，常规；例行公事 business matters which required Tom's personal 个人 attention. He had postponed 使延期 them for a while to give more time to his new experiments.

"Now, young fellow, I'm not letting you get away until you've looked over these papers!" declared Ned, pretending 假装 to threaten his chum with a yard‧stick 院子‧棍；粘贴. "I've been after you for a week about 'em!"

Tom dodged 躲闪 and pretended 假装 to be scared 惊恐. "You're right, though," he admitted.

The two worked rapidly. Within an hour the seemingly 似乎 end‧less 无穷 stack 堆 of documents 文件 had shrunk to a few letters and bills. Just as Ned was reaching for one of them the telephone rang in the outer office.

"I'll get it, Tom," his chum said.

"Sit still," replied the young inventor. "I'll switch 开关 it to my private phone."

"Tom Swift speaking," he said into the mouth‧piece 口‧块 a moment later. "Oh, hello 哈喽, Mrs. Damon. What's that? But I don't understand. No, there must be some mistake!" A loud 响亮的 click 点击 sounded in the receiver and Tom jerked 混蛋 the instrument from his ear.

"What's wrong?" asked Ned, noting his friend's serious face.

"Mr. Damon's been hurt 损害 in an auto 汽车 accident 意外事件. For some reason his wife is blaming 指责 it on me! Come, we must get to the hospital at once!"

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CHAPTER IV

A MURDEROUS ATTEMPT

"You drive, Tom," said Ned, for they had come from the Swift home in his car.

"O.K., and hang onto your hat!"

Tom Swift had once driven drive a fast racing auto 汽车 of his own design and Ned knew his chum could get the most out of his roadster. In a few seconds the little car reached the gate 门 of the works, where the watch‧man 钟表；注视‧男人 halted 停 them.

"Oh, an' 'tiz you agin, Misther Swift," said Malligan. "Sure, an' I wouldn't have stopped yez but me orders is to inspect 检查 iveryone."

"You did right, Pat," commended 表彰 Tom, shifting 转移 gears 齿轮. "Good-night."

The Shopton Hospital was located 定位 a couple of miles from the Swift plant. Under the young scientist's guidance 指导 the roadster reached its entrance 入口 within a few minutes. At the information desk the boys were informed where Mr. Damon had been taken.

"Room 302, Mr. Swift. Doctor Chilton is with him now."

Just as the boys reached Room 302 the physician 医师 came out. Tom was glad to note that the man was smiling.

"How is he, Doctor?"

" Hello 哈喽, boys. Mr. Damon will be as good as new in a week or so. Barring a sprained wrist 腕 his injuries 伤 are trifling 琐事—a few bruises 挫伤 and a slight cut. From the way he's blessing 祝福 everything in the place no one would think he was hurt in the least!"

"I'm relieved 解除," said Tom. "May we see him?"

"Go right in. He'll be glad to have some company. But don't stay too long."

"Bless my operating table, if it isn't Tom and Ned!" exclaimed 喊叫 Mr. Damon, seeing his visitors enter. The eccentric 偏心 gentleman was propped 支柱 up in bed by several pillows 枕头. His left arm was in a sling 吊绳 and around his head was a big band‧age 绷带. "You two got here almost as quickly as I did. But I'm glad they didn't have to carry you in!"

"Your wife phoned me the news," explained Tom. "We're mighty 威武 glad you weren't injured 损伤 badly 很糟地. Tell us how it happened."

"It all occurred 发生 so suddenly that I hardly know myself 我. But I know one thing!" Mr. Damon seemed very indignant. "The scoundrels deliberately 故意 ran into my car!"

"Did you get their license 执照 number?" inquired 打听 Ned Newton. "If you did, I'll call the police!"

"No, I couldn't see it in the dark. But I know the villains 恶棍 well enough. They were my two so-called relatives that I told you about—Jones and Brown! It was spite 恶意 work for my refusal 拒绝 to tell 'em about your glass!"

Tom now saw the reason why Mrs. Damon was blaming him for the accident.

"We'll notify 通知 the authorities 权威 and also do a little detective 侦探 work ourselves 我们自己," he said. "We must leave now because the doctor wants you to get some rest."

"Come back again, boys. At any rate, I've escaped that house party!"

After reporting the accident at the local police station, Tom and Ned visited all the garages 车库 and repair 修理 shops in the little town in an attempt to learn if any damaged 损害 machine had been brought in. They met with no success, however.

"Guess their bus 公共汽车 wasn't hurt much," commented 评论 Ned as they left the last place. "We might as well give up for the night."

"The police will be on the job. Unless the two men hid hide the car somewhere it's sure to be found. The teletype will flash 使闪光 the word all through the state."

The following morning the Police Chief telephoned Tom to tell him that no trace 跟踪 of the mysterious 神秘 Jones and Brown could be discovered, nor had any witness to the accident been located 定位.

Later Ned went to the hospital where he found Mr. Damon much improved and able to sit up in a wheel chair. After a visit with him he attended to some business at the bank. On returning to the Swift plant, he found Tom busy with his green disk 磁盘, which once more was clamped 钳 to the little telescope 望远镜.

"Mr. Damon is a lot better," Ned reported, watching his friend's work curiously. "When I left him he was blessing his hat and coat, so I suppose he's eager 渴望的 to get out of the hospital."

"That's great," said Tom. "I knew he was getting along all right. I was too busy to go with you so I called Doctor Chilton. He told me that the X-ray 光束 showed no broken break bones, but our friend must remain under observation 意见 for a few days more."

"You've changed the wiring on the disk 磁盘, haven't you?" asked Ned, who knew a little about electricity 电力.

"I want to try alternating 备用 current instead of direct and see if doing so won't improve it. Dad 爸 suggested that. What is it, Koku?"

"Boy bringum letter for Master. Say must put name on book." The man held out an envelope 信封 and pad 垫.

"It's a radio‧gram 无线电‧公克. Sign for me, Ned, will you?"

Tom ripped 安息 open the envelope and glanced 一瞥 over the message.

"Bad news?" asked his chum, seeing a changed expression on the inventor's face.

"I should say so. Here, read it your‧self 你自己. We might just as well forget the whole telescope 望远镜 idea, that's how bad it is!"

Ned took the sheet, which Tom had crumpled 弄皱, spread it out on the desk, and read as follows:

"Say, Tom, that IS tough 坚强的, having your meteorite 陨石 thrown throw over‧board 落水!" exclaimed 喊叫 Ned, rereading the message. "All your work wasted and your marvelous 奇妙 invention junked 破烂—"

"Not yet!" broke in the young scientist grimly 严峻 as he grabbed 用手抓 the telephone from his desk. "Hello 4, operator, get me long distance, please."

"What are you going to do?" asked Ned excitedly.

"Get divers 潜水员," replied Tom as he waited. "I'm going to recover 恢复 that meteorite 陨石 or know the reason—Oh, hello 5! Yes. I want the main office of the Neptune Salvage Company in New York City. No, I haven't the address. Yes, I'll hold the line.

"These people are experts 专家," he told his chum while waiting for his call to be put through. "If the stone isn't in too deep water they'll be able to raise it if anyone can."

"But how can they ever find it? Seems to me it'll be like hunting for the proverbial needle 针 in a hay‧stack 干草‧堆, only more so!"

"Not quite that bad. Captain Mawson gives what seem to be pretty complete directions. You might try getting any further data 数据 the man may have."

Unfortunately 不幸 for Tom, as he learned learn in the next two hours, the Neptune Company and other salvage 打捞 concerns he called were very busy and could not spare 节省；多余的；备用件 a barge 驳船 of the required size. Moreover, Ned could get no more information, when he finally contacted 联系 the freighter 货物, than her commander 命令 had given already.

"Why doan yo' tak' yo' submarine 潜艇 boat down dere, Massa Tom?" asked Eradicate as he served luncheon 午餐 to the young inventor, his father and Ned. "Ah 'members we once got some treasure 金银财宝 off'n de bottom ob de sea dat way."

"I did think of that, Rad," answered Tom a bit wearily 厌倦, "but my ship isn't big enough to raise such a great weight."

"And so, son," said the elder 年长的 Swift, "if you can't get the use of a large salvage 打捞 craft 手艺 you will have to give up your project 项目; is that right?"

"That's right, Dad 爸, and I surely hate to think of it. But I'm not going to give up, even if I have to bring men and equipment 设备 from the Pacific coast!"

"That'd be mighty 威武 expensive 昂贵的," objected Ned. In his capacity 容量 as the Swifts' business manager, he had earned the nick‧name 昵称 "watch‧dog 看家狗 of the treasury 国库." "Why not wait until some local firm can take the job?"

"Too risky 有风险. You see, ocean 洋 currents or some submarine 潜艇 upheaval 动荡 might shift 转移 the big stone so great a distance that we could never find it. Don't forget that to the best of our knowledge the meteorite 陨石 is the only source 资源 of X on earth."

"Hmm," frowned 皱眉 Mr. Swift. "I used to know an old fellow very well who was in the diving 潜水 business. Met him when we built the submarine 潜艇 'Advance'—you boys remember her—but I can't seem to recall 召回 his name. Let me see—Ha! I have it! Britten! That's it, John Britten, the best salvage 打捞 man on the coast!"

"Maybe he's busy too," said Ned, "as all the others seem to be."

"I think not," replied the elderly 年老的；上了年纪的 scientist, "because he's retired. Yet I believe he'll under‧take 承担 the job if I ask him as I once did him a great favor. His salvaging 打捞 outfit 配备 is in Florida, but he lives on Delaware Bay. I'll phone him at once."

"That's great, Dad 爸!" cried Tom, his face lighting up with renewed 更新 hope. "Tell him I'll bring him here by plane 平面 tomorrow. We can talk things over and start for Florida from here."

"He'll go," said Mr. Swift a few minutes later, turning away from the telephone with a smile. "Said he'll be tickled 痒痒 to get back in harness 马具."

"Thanks a million, Dad 爸! You've saved the day!"

The following morning the boys hurried out to the Swift private air‧port 飞机场 to over‧see 监视 the fueling 汽油 of the huge 巨大 plane 平面 Tom had decided to take. At first he had thought of making the trip in his small two-seated racer, since it was the fastest craft 手艺 in the hangar. Realizing, however, that Captain Britten might want to bring along consider‧able 大量 baggage 行李, the young inventor had told Ned he felt it best to go in his flying boat.

The "Winged Arrow 箭头；矢," in which Tom once had made a memorable 难忘 rescue 营救 flight 飞行 to Iceland, was equipped 装备 now with a retractable landing gear 齿轮 as well as with pontoons, enabling 启用 the craft 手艺 to descend 下来 on both land and water. Suddenly Tom became very excited as he looked at the hydroplane.

"Look, Ned!" he cried. "Can you beat that!"

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CHAPTER V

IN PERIL

Upon inspection 检查, it was found that three half-inch holes had been drilled 钻头 into each pontoon. It was evident 明显 that only an enemy of Tom or of the Swift Company could have done such a thing.

"Ned, that proves it!" declared the young inventor gloomily 阴沉.

"Proves what?" Ned asked.

"Can't you see? It all ties in with Mr. Damon's so-called relatives, and their knowledge of my formula 方法／规则 for a bend‧able 弯曲‧能够的 glass. Someone in our shops is a traitor 叛徒—or worse!"

"But what has a damaged hydroplane to do with that?" objected Ned.

"If we had landed on water with these damaged pontoons, we'd have drowned 淹死 most likely," replied Tom. "That would have suited 套房 the villains 恶棍 who want my formula, and no one would have been the wiser 明智的；聪明的 as to what caused the accident."

"Admitting you're right, the thing's a pretty serious mess 不整洁；弄乱," said Ned. "But of course crooked 弯曲 people will go to long lengths for money, and if your formula is a good one, it certainly will bring a lot of money to someone or something."

"And that something is going to be the Swift Company!" declared Tom.

"Since we can't take off in the hydroplane today," said Ned, "let's go back to the office. I suppose it'll require some time to patch 补丁 up those holes."

Tom immediately sent send for one of his skilled mechanics, a man whom 谁 he knew to be trust‧worthy 可靠. He set the fellow to work welding 焊接 patches 补丁 over the holes. After cautioning 小心 his employee to maintain 保持 strict 严格的 silence, he and Ned drove drive away.

"Don't say anything to Dad 爸 about this," warned Tom as the two left the field. "It would only worry him and could do no good. You and I must work out this mess by ourselves 我们自己."

After dinner that evening Tom went to his private laboratory 实验室 to check the thermostat controlling the temperature of the annealing oven 烤箱 in which his batch 批量 of new glass was being slowly cooled. Then he spent some time at his desk over certain intricate 错综复杂 formulas 方法／规则. The room was in semi 半-darkness 黑暗, lighted only by a shaded 遮阳；阴 reading lamp 灯.

"Well, that's that," yawned 打哈欠 the young inventor at length, locking up his desk. "Guess I'd better put the valuable 贵重的 disk 磁盘 back in the vault 拱顶 before I go home," he decided, switching 开关 on the ceiling 天花板 lights and glancing 一瞥 toward the corner where Koku had placed the telescope 望远镜.

With a start he saw that his invention was gone!

Quickly examining the instrument, he found that the green disk 磁盘 had been jerked 混蛋 roughly from its clamps 钳 by someone who evidently 明显地 had been in too great a hurry to bother unscrewing the bolts 螺栓 which had held it in place.

"Ho!" suddenly boomed 繁荣 a deep voice. Tom became aware 知道的 of a commotion outside the laboratory 实验室. "You no get 'way fum me! How you like 'nother knock 敲 on top head?"

"Don't hit me again!" whined 抱怨 someone. "I won't try to escape!"

Tom flung open the door and saw his giant servant 3 dragging 拖拽 a man up the steps. A feeling of tremendous 巨大 relief swept sweep over young Swift as he discovered his precious 宝贵的 green disk 磁盘 in Koku's left hand.

"Ha, Master Tom! Catchum bad mans tryin' to sneak 潜行 through gate 门! See green thing stick out of pocket 口袋 and grab‧bum 用手抓‧屁股—bringum here. Want me hittum again?"

"Please don't let him hurt me, Mr. Swift," snivelled the man. "He hit me an awful 糟糕的 blow back there."

"You had it coming to you," retorted 反驳 Tom sternly 严肃. "Besides, you're not hurt very much. Koku, bring him in here. You certainly did a good piece of work when you nabbed this fellow. Take him into the office and we'll have a word or two with him before I call the police."

"I ain't talkin'," muttered 咕哝 the man, shifting 转移 uncomfortably 不舒服 and looking rather uneasily 不安 at the giant. "You ain't got nothin' on me. I just found that chunk 块 of green glass in the field."

"Don't lie to me, unless you want to be mussed up some more," said Tom grimly 严峻, glancing 一瞥 at Koku. "I think I'll just take a look through your pockets 口袋. Perhaps you found a few other little things when you broke in here."

Under the menacing 威胁 eye of the giant, the man submitted 给 sullenly to the search. There was nothing in his clothes to identify 鉴定 him. Apparently he had stolen nothing else from the laboratory 实验室. He refused to answer any questions, however. Tom gave up and summoned 召唤 the police by telephone.

"O Master, here other thing in man's pocket 口袋!" exclaimed 喊叫 Koku, after the thief 小偷 had been carted 运货马车 away to jail 监狱. "It stuck stick to round green thing when I yank 猛拉 away from um." He handed Tom a bit of paste‧board 粘贴；面团‧板，上船 from which the lower third had been torn tear.

"It's a business card of the Apex Glass Works with the representative's name ripped 安息 off!" exclaimed 喊叫 young Swift aloud 高声. Then to himself he added, "I wonder? Maybe Ned was right after all and they ARE after my formula 4 for bend‧able 弯曲‧能够的 glass!"

Tom immediately called the home of Mr. Stern, head of the glass works, to whom 谁 he related the occurrence 发生. The executive 行政人员 was shocked and very indignant at the thought of there being a criminal 罪犯 among his employees and promised to investigate 调查 thoroughly.

"I hope you don't think I had anything to do with this, Mr. Swift!" the man exclaimed 喊叫.

"Not in the least, sir 先生. But if you turn up any clues 线索, I hope you'll let me know."

"I most assuredly will. You may count on my help."

An early hour next day found Tom and Ned flying south over the sandy 沙 coast of New Jersey. Every inch of the "Winged Arrow 箭头；矢" had been thoroughly inspected 检查, but no other signs of damage 损害 had been discovered. Even so, the young business manager sat a bit uneasily 不安 in his seat as he peered 窥视 out anxiously 焦急的 at the broad wings 翅膀.

"Afraid they'll drop off, old man?" grinned 微笑 Tom. "Don't worry. We X-rayed 光束 'em and no struts 支撑 have been filed 文件 nor any time-bombs 炸弹 planted!"

"Huh, I was just looking at the weather," grunted 咕噜 Ned indignantly. He was secretly relieved, for he had been pondering 思考 how easily a charge of dynamite could have been secreted 分泌 aboard 船上 ship. "How soon do you think we'll reach Delaware Bay?"

"Within the next twenty 二十 minutes," answered his chum, glancing 一瞥 at the instrument board. "Mr. Britten is to meet us at a dock 码头 near Lewes."

Less than half an hour later the pontoons of the "Winged Arrow 箭头；矢" were plowing 犁 through the waters of Delaware Bay toward a near-by pier 码头. A wharf attend‧ant 服务员 caught the line Ned threw throw him and the ship was moored 泊 securely 安全 to a stout 肥硕 post.

As Tom and his companion 同伴 climbed up, a grizzled-looking old man hailed 冰雹 them in a voice that seemed well able to travel from quarter‧deck 四分之一‧甲板 to fo'c'sle even in the teeth of a hurricane 飓风.

"Ahoy there!" he bellowed 怒吼, though scarcely 缺乏的 twenty 二十 feet away. "Are you young Swift and company?"

"Right you are. Captain Britten, I take it?"

Vastly flattered 奉承 by the title, the red-faced old seaman 水手 warmly shook shake hands with the boys. "Correct ye are, me lad 小伙子. Your good father tells me you need a bit o' salvagin' done an' I'm the man as'll do it proper!"

"Good for you, Captain!" said Tom. "That's exactly what my father said. And now, have you your equipment 设备 handy 便利? If it's not too heavy we can load it aboard 船上 the plane 平面 right away. Oh, and I want to introduce my good friend here, Ned Newton."

"Glad to meet ye, ship‧mate 船‧伴，友! As for my salvagin' outfit 配备, it's aboard 船上 ship. We'll pick up my old barge 驳船, the 'Elizabeth B.,' but I calls her the 'Betsy B.,' at Key West, where I keeps her anchored 锚. She's in a manner o' speakin' my winter home." Captain Britten picked up a huge 巨大, battered 面糊 old suit‧case 手提箱. "If your flyin' machine is ready, so am I!"

The old man was obviously 明显 a trifle 琐事 eccentric 偏心, but both boys were warmly attracted 吸引 to him by his sincere 真诚的 and friendly manner. Besides, as Tom noted, there was a certain air of competence 权限 about him, as if he was well able to tackle 滑车 and solve 解决 the hardest of problems in his line.

"Let's go, then!" proposed Ned, motioning to the attend‧ant 服务员 to cast 投 off and handing him a coin 硬币 at the same time.

Listening to a number of quaint 精巧 seafaring expressions from old Captain Britten, who was starting his first voyage 旅行 into the upper air, Tom sent the big craft 手艺 roaring 咆哮 above the smooth water toward Shopton.

"How do you like flying, Captain Britten?" Ned asked. "Ever been up?"

"Well, I guess it's all right," rumbled 隆隆 the salvaging 打捞 expert 专家, looking down at the sea dubiously 可疑. "But to tell you the truth, I'm more at home ON the water than OVER it!"

In a short time the nose of the "Winged Arrow 3" turned inland 内陆 as Tom set his course direct for home. When they were nearing Shopton, the young inventor, intending to come down on solid ground, grasped 把握 the device 设备 which lowered the landing wheels. It seemed to work very stiffly 严厉的, he thought, so he leaned over farther to exert 发挥 more force. Suddenly there came a snapping 卡 noise 噪音.

"What's up, Tom?" called Ned, hearing the noise and seeing his chum fumbling 摸索 with the now use‧less 无用 mechanism 机制.

"Landing gear 齿轮 out of commission 佣金. But there's no need to worry as we can descend 下来 on Lake Carlopa easily with the pontoons."

"By George!" exclaimed 喊叫 Ned Newton, banging 砰 his fist 拳头 on the instrument panel 面板. "Ten 十 to one this is the work of the same scoundrel who bored holes in the floats 漂浮. If I could get my hands on—"

"I hope you'll be in a condition to do so," cut in Tom in an oddly 奇怪 strained 压力 voice. "Take a look at the fuel 汽油 gauge 测量."

"It—it says zero 零! But that's impossible. We saw the tanks 容器 filled last night."

"Sure, and when we took off this morning the gauge 测量 showed they were still full. Someone tampered 篡改 with the pointer of the instrument and all but drained 排水 the gas containers 容器 when they wrecked 破坏；使遇难 the landing gear 齿轮. Just now you dislodged the jammed 果酱 needle 针 when you struck the instrument board with your fist 拳头."

"Then we're in a pretty bad way, eh, Tom?" asked Captain Britten calmly.

"I'll say," replied young Swift grimly 严峻. "We can't hope to reach Carlopa and there is nothing beneath 之下 us now but thick wood‧land 林地. No question about it. A crack 破裂-up is the next thing on the program!"

As he finished speaking, the star‧board 星‧板，上船 motor emitted 发射 a groaning 呻吟 cough 咳嗽 and stopped. The port 港口 engine might run for another five minutes or it might give out within the next five seconds!

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CHAPTER VI

TOM DRUGGED!

Tom had headed the ship up at a steep 陡峭的 angle so as to get as much altitude 高度 as possible before the other motor should stop. But he knew in his heart that he could not hope to glide 滑行 so heavy a plane 平面 as far as the lake.

In some surprise Ned observed that Captain Britten was fumbling 摸索 with the straps 用带捆扎 about his big, old-fashioned valise. Young Newton wondered what the elderly man was looking for so intensely 强烈的，极度的.

"Ahoy there, Tom Swift!" boomed 繁荣 the old diver 潜水, straightening 变直 up with a bottle in his hand. "I've got a drop o' gasoline 汽油 here that may help ye!"

"What's that?" gasped 喘气 the pilot 飞行员. Turning, he saw the quart 一大杯 bottle. Already the remaining engine was dying of thirst. "Quick, Ned!" he ordered, snatching 抢夺 the container. "Take the controls and hold the ship level."

Five seconds later the inventor was creeping 爬行 out along one wing 翅膀 toward the intake 摄入量 valve 阀 of the port 港口 gas tank 容器. Their hearts almost in their mouths, his companions 同伴 watched his hazardous 危险 progress. In spite of the clutching 离合器 hand of the wind and the quavering of the ship under Ned's inexpert guidance 指导, Tom managed to reach his goal 目标.

Removing the cap 盖 with no little difficulty, he dumped 倾倒 the precious 宝贵的 drops of gasoline 汽油 into the tank. In a few moments he got back to the cabin 舱. As he closed the door the laboring 劳动 engine once more resumed 恢复 its full-throated roar 咆哮.

"Lad, you've got what it takes!" rumbled 隆隆 Captain Britten, shaking Tom's hand approvingly. "You're a mighty 威武 brave 勇敢的 young fellow!"

"You mean YOU had what it takes," laughed the inventor, taking over the controls preparatory 预备 to landing on Carlopa. "Without that extra 额外的 bit of gas we'd be piled 堆 up in a tree by now!"

The quart 一大杯 of fuel 汽油 was just sufficient 足够 to carry the ship safely down to the lake's surface at a point about three miles from the town. Fortunately one of Tom's friends was sailing 航行；帆 near-by in his cat 猫-boat and gladly 高兴的 offered to take the three over to the Swift dock 码头, which jutted 突出部分 out from the grounds behind Tom's home.

It was mid 中-afternoon before the "Winged Arrow" was towed 拖 across to the dock 码头 and her tanks refilled 充值 with high-test gasoline 汽油. While this was being done, Tom and Ned went to the home of Mr. Damon to ask if he would like to accompany 陪 them to the West Indies.

The man was found to be sitting in an easy chair on his front porch 门廊, where he spent much time, now that he was home from the hospital.

"Bless my parachute 降落伞, I'd like nothing better than to make the trip!" he said a trifle 琐事 wistfully. "To tell you the truth, though," his voice sank 淹没:sink to a whisper 低声说, "between the doctors and Mrs. Damon I'll be lucky 幸运 if I'm allowed to walk around the block alone for some time to come!"

"Well, that's too bad, Mr. Damon. We were counting on you."

"Bless my fishing tackle 滑车, Tom, I'm sorry 对不起的 too. But tell me! How did Captain Britten happen to be carrying a quart of gasoline 汽油 in his satchel?" asked the eccentric 偏心 gentleman after he had been told of the air‧plane 飞机's narrow escape.

"I thought it strange myself 我," said Tom, "but he claimed he always carries some with him to remove 去掉 grease 油脂 spots from his clothes."

"Ha! He must be quite a character. I suppose aboard 船上 a salvage 打捞 boat folks 民间 get their clothes pretty dirty 肮脏, at that."

After the boys returned home it was decided that they and Mr. Britten would set out for Florida the next morning. In the mean‧time 其时, the elderly diver telegraphed 电报 his care‧taker 管理人 to get the "Betsy B." in order and arrange to hire 聘用 a tug 拖船-boat.

Late in the afternoon Tom called his chum on the phone. "Can you spare 节省；多余的；备用件 me a few minutes?" he asked. "Think I'm going to have something interesting to show you."

"Be right over," replied Ned. "Where are you?"

"In the lab 实验室."

A few minutes later young Newton had joined his friend. "What's up?" he asked Tom as he entered.

Tom had discovered that his bend‧able 弯曲‧能够的 glass mixture 混合 had cooled to a critical 危急 temperature, making it necessary to remove 去掉 it from the furnace 炉 at once lest 免得 it be ruined 破坏. In a small secret chamber 室 beneath his private laboratory 实验室 he had set up a sort of miniature 微型 glass works which would have astonished any ordinary glass worker, for the young inventor had devised 设计 an entirely new method 方法 of procedure 程序. As to its out‧come 结果, well, even to its inventor that feature 特征 remained in doubt.

"Do you think it'll work, Tom?" asked Ned Newton anxiously as he followed the youthful 青春的 scientist down the stairs 楼梯. "Your experiments have cost a mint 薄荷 of money already—"

"Don't croak," chuckled 暗笑 Tom. "I've a few pennies 便士 left, haven't I?"

"You won't have so very many after you finish with your new telescope 望远镜 idea," declared Ned grimly 严峻. "And THAT certainly won't bring in any dividends 股利."

"Nor is it intended to," said Tom a bit sharply. "There is, you know, such a thing as pursuing 追求 knowledge for its own sake 缘故."

"I'm sorry 对不起的. You ought to know, though, that I'm thinking only of your interests, not of mine," he said as they reached the room below.

" Forgive 原谅 me, old man!" Tom clapped 拍 Ned warmly on the back. "Don't feel for a minute that I don't appreciate 欣赏 everything you've done for me. To tell you the truth, I'm as worried about this new glass as you are. That's why I jumped on you. Let's forget it!"

"Right!"

The two were standing now before the cylindrical furnace 炉 containing the mixture 混合 of silicates and other ingredients 成分 from which Tom Swift hoped would emerge 出现 a glass as flexible 灵活 as rubber 橡胶 and as strong as steel 钢. The thermometer on the front stood at twenty 二十-one degrees Centigrade.

"She's just right," muttered 咕哝 the inventor, consulting 咨询；请教；查阅 a complicated chart 图表 hanging on the wall. "Now we'll see!"

The asbestos 石棉-coated door clanged open. Tom drew draw out a shallow 浅的 tray 盘子, the contents of which were buried 埋葬 in a black powder.

"Charcoal!" he explained, setting the pan 平底锅 on a table. "It prevents any rapid temperature change. Even common glass must be cooled slowly or it becomes as brittle 脆 as peanut 花生 candy 糖果."

With the aid 援助 of a wooden rod 杆 Tom pulled out a glass bar about ten 十 inches long and an inch thick. After picking it up carefully 小心 he examined it closely. In no way did the object appear different from ordinary glass.

"Well, here goes!" said the inventor and forth‧with 向前‧和 bent bend the bar into the shape of a horse‧shoe 马‧鞋!

" Hurrah 好哇!" yelled 叫喊 Ned, clapping 拍 his friend on the back. "You've done it again, Tom Swift!"

"Don't crow 乌鸦 too soon. Perhaps it won't bend back again. If a rod 杆 of copper 铜 is annealed in a certain way it can be bent ONCE like rubber 橡胶 but then the crystal 水晶 breaks up and it becomes as rigid 死板 as ever. Maybe this glass will act the same way."

"Then try it! Don't keep me in suspense 悬念!"

Perhaps Tom had been tantalizing his business manager, or maybe he really was doubtful 疑 about the flexibility 灵活性 of the bar. At any rate, when he applied pressure he did not seem surprised when the glass became straight again. Then he proceeded 继续 actually to tie a knot 结 in it, so bend‧able 弯曲‧能够的 was the new substance!

"This will revolutionize 革命化 the glass industry!" declared Ned, noting that even the blows of a heavy sledge-hammer 铁锤 failed even so much as to crack 破裂 the rod 杆.

"It's not half as wonderful 精彩 as that other kind of glass," said Tom, dreamily.

"Your glass eye, d'you mean?" chuckled 暗笑 Ned in high good humor 幽默. In his mind he could already see fat profits for the company.

"I'll give you a pair of black eyes if you make another bad joke 笑话!" laughed Tom, giving his chum a playful 调皮 push. "But seriously, I'm mighty 威武 well pleased with this stuff; it turned out better than I dared 敢 hope. You know, I got the idea for bend‧able 弯曲‧能够的 glass while I was trying to figure out a way to make a huge 巨大 telescope 望远镜 mirror 镜子. That was before we found the meteorite 陨石."

"And I suppose you'll go back to the glass mirror if you can't find the big stone so you can make the large green disk 磁盘."

"Yes, that's what I'll have to do if the salvage 打捞 attempt fails. But I'm sure we'll succeed."

Captain Britten had been given a room at the Swift home. When the boys got there they found their guest and Tom's father deep in a game of chess 棋.

"Well, son," laughed Mr. Swift, "I've met my match at last. John Britten has beaten beat me three straight games! But don't tell Damon about it!"

"I won't, Dad 爸," grinned 微笑 Tom. "What do you think of this?" He handed his father the bar of bend‧able 弯曲‧能够的 glass.

"What do I think of it? Why, it looks like a glass rod 杆, that's all I can see."

"Then watch!" Tom took the bar and deftly twisted 扭成一束 it into the shape of a fat pretzel.

"You've done it, son!" cried Mr. Swift. "And to think I told you such a thing was impossible! Congratulations!"

At dinner that evening the conversation turned mainly to the projected 项目 flight 飞行 to the West Indies. It was decided to start the next day at sun‧rise 日出, as Captain Britten had received word from Florida that his barge 驳船 had been made ready. A tug 拖船 was getting up steam 蒸汽 to haul 运输 it to the Cuban coast.

"Mr. Damon can't go with us, Dad 爸," said Tom. "His wife won't let him! By the way," he added with a laugh, "she was looking up the names of all his relatives—Mr. Damon said she was glad of the excuse 原谅 to do so!—but she could find none named Jones or Brown. So that definitely 无疑 proves those two fellows were fakes 假 and that they merely pretended relationship in order to pump 3 him about my work."

After supper 晚饭 Ned went to his home to pack a suit‧case 手提箱, for he was to spend the night at the Swifts' to be on hand for the early start that was being planned. Tom spent the evening in his office studying the latest available data 数据 on diving operations, and plotting 情节 the route 路线 over which the party would travel to the coast of Cuba.

Immersed in his work, he at first paid but little attention to a peculiar 奇怪的 odor 气味 that gradually 逐步地 was pervading 弥漫 the atmosphere 大气层.

Suddenly he realized that something was wrong; a strange buzzing 蜂鸣器 filled his ears and the lights seemed to be growing dim 暗淡. He started to get up, but instead fell fall across his desk.

As Tom lay lie there motion‧less 运动‧少, a window opened noiselessly. Stealthily a masked 面具 figure climbed in. After a hasty 匆 glance 一瞥 around the room, the intruder 侵入者 hastened 加速 to the desk and leaned over the unconscious 无意识 youth.

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CHAPTER VII

DEEP SEA DIVING

Swiftly the masked 面具 man took a bunch 束 of keys from Tom's pocket. With a directness that indicated 表明 familiarity 熟悉 with the place, he went straight to the rug 小块地毯 covering the entrance 入口 to the secret vault 拱顶. Throwing this aside, he unlocked 开锁 the trap 陷阱；诱骗 door and quietly raised it. The combination 组合 lock, which gave warning if tampered 篡改 with, had not been set for the night.

Now the intruder 侵入者 very carefully 小心 draped 悬垂 the rug 3 over the door in such a way that it would spread itself 本身 as before when the trap should be closed from below. Two minutes later Tom was alone in the office, which appeared exactly as it had before he was rendered 给予 unconscious 无意识. Yet there crouched 蹲伏 in the vault 拱顶 a hidden hide spy 间谍 whose 谁的 purpose was as sinister 险恶 as his appearance.

"Mist' Swift, Massa Tom ain' come back fum de office yit," announced 宣布 Rad Sampson as he placed the elderly inventor's nightly glass of hot milk 奶 on the library table. "I wuz jest up t' his room to ax 斧头 him suffin' an' he wuzn't dar."

"Well, I guess the boy is working a bit late tonight 今晚. But you sound a trifle 琐事 anxious 焦急的, Eradicate. Do you think anything is wrong?"

"Uh—Oh, no suh. No suh," mumbled 咕哝 the old Negro. "I jest wondered ef yo'd seen him. Good night, suh! Good night!"

"Good night, Rad."

"Mustn't worry ole Mist' Swift," the servant muttered 咕哝 to himself as he shuffled 拖曳 back to the kitchen. "But Massa Tom tole me hisself he gwine t' baid early 'cause he gotta git up befo' sun‧rise 日出.

"Look hyah, Koku," he went on when he got to the kitchen. "Quit stuffin' dat 'ar pie 馅饼 an' go out an' see ef Massa Tom all right. He ought t' have bin 箱子 in de house long sence. I'se skeered mebbe some villains 恶棍 mought've cotched him!"

"Whoo!" growled 吠声 the giant, jumping up so quickly that his big, specially-built chair crashed 碰撞 over. "Where um war-club? Me fixum!"

"Doan make sich a racket 球拍, yo' big lummox! Yo' want to skeer ol' Mist' Swift? Heah, take mah rollin'- pin 钉."

Clutching the rolling pin as a "war-club," Koku started through the darkness 黑暗 toward Tom's private laboratory 实验室. Following him at a discreet 慎重 distance came old Rad Sampson, who had armed himself with a big butcher 屠夫 knife.

"Dar's a light in de office, big boy," whispered 低声说 the Negro. "Be keerful, now!"

The giant merely grunted 咕噜, crept 爬行:creep up to the window and peered 窥视 within. His great height 高度 enabled 启用 him to do so easily. "Come," he said finally, turning toward the door. "We go in."

"Whut de matter?" demanded Eradicate, struggling to keep up with his companion 同伴. "Am suffin' wrong? Mah goodness 善良!" he cried a moment later in the office. "Po' Massa Tom done been killed! Look at him a-layin' dere!"

"Him no dead!" rumbled 隆隆 Koku, leaning over his master. "Him heart still beatum. Him need fresh air." Gently he picked Tom up and carried him outside.

"I'll git a doctah!" exclaimed 喊叫 the old colored man. "Dey's a phone in heah."

Before the physician 医师 could be reached, the beneficial 有利 effects of the cool night air had brought the young inventor back to consciousness 意识. At first he could not recall 召回 what had happened and was not a little astonished to find himself lying on the grass 草.

"What in the world is the matter, Koku?" he demanded, pressing his hand to his aching 疼痛 head. "What am I doing out here?"

"Master out, get knockum," said the giant. "We find you on desk. Rad callum medicine 医学 man now."

"A doctor? No, I'm all right. Tell him to cancel 取消；终止；撤销 the call." Tom managed to struggle to his feet. "I remember now! Some kind of gas must have been used on me. But I must see to the office. Maybe I've been robbed 抢劫."

Leaning heavily 很大，沉重地 on the giant's arm, Tom walked as fast as he could into the laboratory 实验室. At first glance 一瞥 everything seemed to be in order, and to his relief he found the vault 拱顶 was locked.

The young inventor did not know that a key was missing from his ring, nor, as he twirled the dial 拨号 of the combination 组合-lock, did he realize that a slender 苗条 lever 杠杆 had been severed 严峻的 from below, thus rendering 给予 use‧less 无用 the intricate 错综复杂 mechanism.

"Who done dis to you', Massa Tom?" asked Rad.

"Wish I knew. Anyhow 总之, there's been no damage 损害 done except to me! My head's splitting 分裂, so I must get to bed. Koku, stay on guard here from now on until I return from Cuba. And get several of the men to relieve 解除 you. Another thing: I don't want either of you to mention this affair to anyone. Dad 爸 would hear about it and worry."

"If I catchum fella I breakum in little bits 一点!" cried Koku fiercely 凶猛的. He shook the rolling-pin vigorously 大力. "Better him stay 'way fum me!"

Tom awoke 醒着的:awake the next morning little the worse for his experience. Thanks to a rugged 小块地毯 constitution 宪法, he had been able to throw off the ill 生病 effects of the poisonous 有毒 fumes 烟 which had over‧come 战胜 him.

"I can't make it out, Ned," he said as the boys stood watching the mechanics warm up the engines of the big sea‧plane 海‧飞机，航空器. "Nothing is missing. Whoever 无论谁 did the job didn't even rob 抢劫 me, and I had a good deal of cash 现金 in my wallet 钱包."

"Maybe nobody made an attempt on you or your property at all, Tom," Ned remarked slowly.

"What d'you mean? I certainly was knocked 敲 out!"

"Oh, I know that. But couldn't some sort of gas have seeped 渗透 into your office from your adjoining 毗 laboratory 实验室? A bottle of acid 酸 might have cracked 破裂, or—"

"Nothing like that happened. I'm positive 正, because the same thought struck me. I made a careful 小心 inspection 检查 this morning. Everything was in perfect order."

"It certainly is strange," said Ned. "It looks as if some enemy is camping on your trail 乡间小道, Tom!"

"He'll have a hard time picking up that same trail in a few minutes," chuckled 暗笑 the inventor. "Here come Captain Britten and Dad 爸. I guess we can take off soon."

"So your sea-goin' air-yacht 游艇 is ready to cast 投 off, is she?" asked the old diver. "Well, when ye haul 运输 in the gangplank, so to speak, I'll be aboard 船上!"

"Take care of your‧self 你自己, son," said Barton Swift, shaking Tom's hand. "I hope you will be successful 成功 in your attempt."

"Good-bye 再见, Dad 爸. And thanks."

"Doan git et up by no sharks 鲨鱼 or allygators!" cautioned 小心 Rad.

The mechanics had finished their work and were seen climbing down from the fuselage. The passengers 乘客 took their places in the roomy cabin 舱 while Tom seated himself behind the controls.

After running a critical 危急 eye over the score 得分了 of instruments he reached for the throttle 风门 and clutched 离合器 the wheel tighter 紧的. The intermittent 断断续续的 coughing 咳嗽 of the powerful 强大 motors changed to a deafening roar 咆哮, and the huge 巨大 ship lumbered 木料 off down the long field, gathering speed every second.

"We're off!" cried Ned, waving at the already distant 遥远的 figures left behind.

"And we'll bring home the meteorite 陨石!" muttered 咕哝 Tom to himself as the "Winged Arrow" glided 滑行 smoothly toward the clouds lining the southern 南部的 horizon 地平线. "For I'm going to make the most wonderful 精彩 telescope 望远镜 the world has ever known!"

---

CHAPTER VIII

TRAPPED BY A SEA MONSTER

"This is travelin' in style 样式, all right," approvingly remarked Captain Britten, looking about the comfort‧able 舒服 appointed cabin 舱 and sniffing 吸气 the appetizing odor 气味 of lamb 羊肉 chops 劈 on the electric grill 烤架. When necessary, Ned Newton could cook an impromptu meal 餐. He really was rather proud of his ability.

As the amateur 业余 chef 厨师 placed the meal on a small, collapsible table, Tom announced 宣布 that they were now flying over the state of Georgia. "We should reach Key West about three P.M.," he said.

The ship droned 无人驾驶飞机 steadily onward 向前. At two o' clock 钟 in the afternoon they were passing near a large city. "Miami," declared Ned, who had been poring 孔 over a chart 图表. "Airplanes go to many parts of South America from there."

Tom sent the "Winged Arrow" lower and lower. Finally he leveled off at an altitude 高度 of about five hundred 百 feet above the blue sea. Here the full force of the fierce 凶猛的 subtropical sun began to make itself 本身 felt.

The travelers 游客, fresh from the comparatively 比较 cool northern 北方的 summer, made haste 匆忙 to open all the air vents 发泄 in the plane 平面. Then they changed into white linen 麻布 suits.

"Whew!" exclaimed 喊叫 Tom, mopping 拖把 his brow 眉头. "I've traveled in the jungles 丛林 of Africa but have never felt hotter!"

"Ah, it's the ship, my boy. You see, the dark metal hull 船壳 fairly soaks 浸泡 up the sun, an' that's why we're a bit uncomfortable 不舒服," said Captain Britten. "Once we land, you'll think the climate 气候 fine!"

Shortly after‧ward 之后 they flew fly over a grim 严峻-looking American battle‧ship 与…作战‧船. It greeted 欢迎 them with a hoarse blast 爆破 of her whistle 吹口哨 as the flying boat shot shoot by at the rate of two hundred 百 miles an hour. On either side tiny 小 islands, or cays, appeared, then vanished 消失 as if by magic 魔法. Finally a blue blur 模糊 straight ahead began to loom 织布机 even larger, and in a few minutes the "Winged Arrow" landed in the harbor 海港 of Key West.

"Half-past three," said Tom, glancing 一瞥 at the clock 钟 on the instrument panel 面板. "A slow passage."

"Fast as I'd want to make it," declared Captain Britten. "A steamer'd have taken a good many hours where we needed only minutes. There's the old 'Betsy B.' tied to her pier 码头, so let's get over to her!"

The idling 无意义的 engines were speeded up and the flying boat moved slowly across the harbor. A tug 拖船 with smoke curling 一绺鬈发 from her single thick funnel 漏斗 lay near the broad-beamed 梁 barge 驳船.

Over the stern 严肃 of the latter several grinning 微笑 Negroes leaned. Their ancestors 祖先 might have been stricken dumb 哑 at sight of the great sky craft 手艺 tying up to their ship, but these darkies were familiar with daily passage of planes 平面 bound 必定；跳 for South America and showed but little astonishment 惊愕. In a liquid 液体 Spanish-English patois they bade the whites welcome. All of them were old retainers of Captain Britten.

As the elderly man had said, the old barge 驳船 had served as winter quarters for him during the past years. In consequence 后果, he had had her little cabins 舱 fitted up more luxuriously 豪华 than is customary 习惯的 on such vessels 容器. Tom and Ned were given one far more comfort‧able 舒服；自在 than they had expected.

The rest of the afternoon was taken up with inspection 检查 of the ship, the arrangements 安排 for the safe-keeping of the "Winged Arrow," and the laying of plans. Immediately after the hydroplane had been moored 泊 to a small pier 码头 owned by Captain Britten, the tug 拖船-boat chugged out into the Gulf of Mexico at the rate of ten 十 knots 结.

"I'd say we should reach the spot some time tomorrow afternoon," said Tom after studying the chart 图表. "It's just under two hundred 百 miles."

"And we'll get your meteorite 陨石 for you!" predicted 预测 the old salvage 打捞 man confidently. "Lucky 幸运 the captain of that freighter 货物 'Perry' took a bearing on the light‧house 灯塔 at Port 港口 Baracoa; otherwise it would be like lookin' for a boll weevil in a bale 包 o' cotton 棉!"

Ruiz, the coal 煤-black cook, served a good supper 晚饭 at sun‧down 太阳‧往下. Shortly after‧ward 之后 the boys went to their bunks 假寐, for both were tired after the long flight 飞行. Then too, Tom was still feeling the effects of the gas inhaled 吸入 the previous 以前 night.

Next morning found the "Betsy B." wallowing through a smooth sea a few miles off the east coast of Cuba. Under the super‧vision 监督 of Captain Britten, several of the crew 全体工作人员；全体船员 were busy oiling the huge 巨大 winch, over‧haul 翻修 steel cables 电线, and seeing to a dozen other minor 次要 but important details. Altogether 全部地, it was a busy scene that met the eyes of Tom and Ned when they emerged 出现 on deck 甲板.

"Your father was right, I think," said Ned. "You certainly have a competent 胜任 man. See how the crew jump at his word!"

"I agree," said Tom with satisfaction 满足. "But me for break‧fast 早餐! This sea air surely gives a fellow a good appetite 食欲."

A head wind coupled with a rising sea combined to hold back the tug 拖船 and her rather clumsy 笨拙 tow 拖 as the day waned 没落. Occasional heavy rain squalls made the deck 甲板 of the barge 驳船 a rather uncomfortable 不舒服 place, so the boys stayed in the main cabin 舱 and discussed plans.

"I think the rainy 多雨的 season must be at its height," groaned 呻吟 Ned at last as he and Tom sat sweltering. "Maybe we'll be cooped up here for the whole voyage 旅行."

"Not me," declared the young inventor with a laugh. "Since when have you grown grow afraid of a little rain? By afternoon we ought to be near the spot where Captain Mawson jettisoned the meteorite 陨石 and then we'll begin to get busy, weather or no weather!"

"I hope the thing will be worth all our trouble," said Ned a bit crossly. "Perhaps we won't even be able to find it. What then?"

"You're just suffering from a touch of 'mal de mer'!" teased 逗 Tom, refusing to consider his chum's gloomy 阴沉 remarks.

"I'm not a bit sea‧sick 海‧病；恶心!" protested 抗议 Ned indignantly. "I just think we're on a wild goose 鹅 chase 追, that's all!"

"Wait and see."

Evening drew nigh, and the sudden tropical 热带 night fell. On the Cuban coast lights went on, dominated 支配 by the intermittent 断断续续的 glare 强光 of a powerful 强大 beacon many miles ahead.

"Baracoa Light," announced 宣布 Captain Britten, seeing this. "We will lay off-shore till 到 morning and begin our work tomorrow."

It spoke speak well for Tom Swift's nerves 神经 that he slept sleep soundly, despite 尽管 his great interest in the morrow's activities. During the night the sea abated and the rain ceased 停止. Dawn broke with a brilliance 辉 to be seen only in tropical 热带 lands.

In order to reach the spot in the sea beneath which the meteorite 陨石 lay, it was necessary to get the barge 驳船 into a position corresponding 对应 to the apex of an isosceles triangle 三角形 in relation to the light‧house 灯塔 tower 塔 and the peak 峰 of a small hill near by.

Captain Britten and Tom, sextants in hand, made repeated observations 意见. Ned stood by the telephone connecting the tug 拖船 and her tow 拖, transmitting 发送 to the former's captain the navigation 导航 directions. Finally the barge 驳船 was supposed to be exactly where the freighter 货物 had thrown over‧board 落水 the big stone.

"We may have to look around a little, though," remarked Tom as Captain Britten ordered the tug 拖船 halted 停 and anchors 锚 lowered. "In the big storm 暴风雨 Captain Mawson might have made a mistake in his reckoning 估计."

The water was about three hundred 百 feet deep here, the Hydrographic Office charts 图表 showed. When Ned learned this, he looked serious.

"The record depth attained 达到 by a diver is only 204 feet!" he exclaimed 喊叫. "At least, that's what I read in an encyclopedia 百科全书."

"Guess you're referring to James Hooper, who reached that depth off the South American coast some years ago," smiled Tom Swift. "But since then diving-dress has undergone consider‧able 大量 improvement 起色, eh, Captain Britten?"

"That's right. I have on board several of the newest type suits. Besides, I use native 本土的 divers 潜水员, men who, even without protection, can descend 下来 to almost unbelievable 难以置信的 distances."

Quickly a boom 繁荣 was swung swing out over‧side 之上‧边；面. From it hung several pulleys to which was attached 连接 a narrow steel platform 平台. Presently three tall Negroes carried out of the store‧room 商店‧房间 grotesque 奇怪的-looking diving suits which weighed over two hundred 百 and fifty 五十 pounds apiece.

Captain Britten spoke in Spanish to one of them, then the fellow began putting on the weird 奇怪的 uniform 制服. It made him look like a visitor 访问者 from another world. The tremendous 巨大 weight of his garb prevented him from moving at more than a slow shuffle 拖曳 across the deck 甲板, strong though he was.

A section 部分 of the railing 围栏；钢轨 had been removed 去掉 to allow access 访问 to the dangling 吊着 metal platform 平台 upon which the diver stepped. The boom 繁荣 swung out and the drum 鼓 of the winch began unrolling. In a few seconds only a trail of vanishing 消失 bubbles 泡沫 marked the spot where the Negro had gone into the sea.

"How long will it take him to reach bottom?" asked Ned, peering 窥视 over‧side 之上‧边；面 in fascination 魅力.

"About forty 四十 minutes," replied Captain Britten. "A diver must be lowered and raised gradually 逐步地 in order to avoid the terrible after-effects of a sudden change in pressure. At three hundred 百 feet the pressure is more than eighteen 十八 thou‧sand 千 pounds per square foot!"

Time dragged 拖拽 on. Down, down rolled the heavy cable 电线 supporting the diver. Finally Tom held his watch to his ear, as though he were afraid it might have stopped.

"Oh, it's still running," laughed Ned a little nervously 担心的 as he observed his chum's action. "Only five more minutes, Tom!"

At last a bell 钟 tinkled and Captain Britten grabbed up the telephone instrument which connected 连接 barge 驳船 and diver. For a few seconds he listened, then replied briefly 短时间地 in Spanish.

"Alvarez is down," he said to Tom as he hung up the receiver. "He reports a good, sandy 沙 bottom but no sight yet of the meteorite 陨石. At any rate, there's no danger of it having sunk 淹没:sink in an oozy bottom."

Ten 十 minutes later the phone buzzed 蜂鸣器 again, this time with a request that the ship be moved a little east and that Manuel, Alvarez's mate 伴，友, be sent down to help. This was done, and another telephone instrument was plugged 插头 in.

Tom, who understood understand a little Spanish, stood by to hear the report of the second diver. Both lines were now kept open continuously 一直.

Finally Manuel reached bottom, saying that he had contacted 联系 Alvarez. For some minutes nothing came through either telephone but the sound of the submerged 淹没 men's breathing 呼吸.

"I see something, Señor! A rock—'que grande'!" came to Tom's ears suddenly. "It must indeed be that which the Señor seeks 寻求. But, Santa Maria! there is something else—!" Manuel's voice broke off suddenly.

"Captain Britten! Can you hear your man?" shouted Tom after his repeated attempts to renew 更新, the connection had failed.

"No! I can hear only a muffled groaning 呻吟. Something has gone wrong. That's sure!"

"Pull 'em up quick, then!" advised Ned.

This seemed good advice 劝告, so the auxiliary 辅 engine was started and the winches began turning slowly.

"Stop, Señor!" suddenly screamed 叫喊 the native 本土的 engineer, waving his arms excitedly and cutting off the steam 蒸汽. "The drums 鼓 turn—si—but the cables do not rise. Something has caught the men!"

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CHAPTER IX

A ROBBER

"Loose the winches a little!" ordered Captain Britten sharply. "The air-hoses 软管 are strained almost to the breaking point."

"Si," mumbled 咕哝 the engineer, easing 轻松 off the brake 制动 a trifle 琐事.

"What's the trouble, in your opinion, Captain?" asked Tom.

"Hard to say, young fellow," came the worried reply. "What I'm afraid of is that a huge 巨大 octopus or some such monster 怪物 has attacked the poor divers 潜水员. Whatever it is, I fear it's the end for 'em, as there's not another diver aboard 船上 and we can't haul 运输 the men up for fear of breakin' their air-lines."

"Have you another diving suit?" asked Tom rapidly. "I've had consider‧able 大量 experience in under‧sea 在…下面‧海 work and can't let those boys drown 淹死 without trying to help 'em!"

"Can you do it, lad 小伙子? Yes, I've a brand 牌-new outfit 配备 aboard 船上 that's of the latest type. But what'll I say to your father if anything happens to you?"

"Dad 爸 wouldn't want me to stand back at a time like this," rejoined 归队 the young inventor. "I sent these men down and it's up to me to see they get back safely!"

"But, Tom!" cried Ned. "What of the octopus? You may be trapped 陷阱；诱骗 too, and not save Manuel and Alvarez either!"

"You forget, or maybe you didn't know, that I brought my electric rifle 步枪 with me. That'll polish 擦光 off any devil 魔鬼-fish I'm likely to meet!"

"Well, at least let me go too!"

"Isn't but one suit," said Captain Britten. "Now, Tom Swift, if you're ready, here's the suit."

"All set," said the young inventor calmly. He began to remove 去掉 his outer clothing. "Ned, please bring up my rifle 步枪."

By the time the young scientist had been helped into the massively 大规模 armored 盔甲 suit, Ned was back on deck 甲板 carrying a peculiar 奇怪的-looking gun. Unlike 不像 other weapons, this one could discharge 卸货 a bolt 螺栓 of electricity 电力 which would slay 诛戮 the largest animal or merely tickle 痒痒 a baby, according to the adjustment 调整. Tom set it to its highest power.

"Good luck!" cried Ned as the heavy helmet 头盔 was lowered into place.

Tom attempted to wave in reply but the gear 齿轮 was too weighty. Later, when he got into the depths, the buoyant effect of the water would enable 启用 him to move more freely.

Clutching his gun in his armored 盔甲 hand, Tom crept slowly on to the platform 平台 suspended 暂停 over the sea. As it was lowered to the water he got a last glimpse 一瞥 of Ned Newton's face staring down at him.

The young business manager paced 步伐，速度 the deck 甲板 of the barge 驳船, at every step reproaching 责备 himself for allowing his chum to under‧take 承担 so hazardous 危险 a venture 企业；投机活动；商业冒险. As his watch told him that Tom must be nearing the bottom he seated himself by the switch‧board 总机, head‧phone 耳机 clamped 钳 over his ears.

"Ground floor," announced 宣布 Tom at last. "Pretty dark down here. I'll switch 开关 on my flash 使闪光. Now—by George!"

Ned heard a muffled silence.

"Tom! Tom!" he shouted frantically 疯狂. "What's happened? Are you all right?"

For nearly ten 十 minutes Ned crouched 蹲伏 by the instrument trying to get in touch with his friend. Just as he was giving up hope he heard a weak voice gasp 喘气:

"Not so loud 响亮的, old man! You've nearly broken my ear-drums. Everything's under control!"

"Hurray!" shouted Ned. "He's found 'em, Captain Britten!"

"Easy!" protested 抗议 Tom from the depths. "Don't shout like that so near the phone! Yes, the men are O.K. A big fish had 'em—don't know what it was, as I never heard of anything like it. But a couple of shots from the rifle 步枪 killed it."

"Tell Captain Britten to send down some heavy chains. We've found the meteorite 陨石!"

The now jubilant crew 3, who had feared their companions 同伴 lost, scurried about. In a few minutes the stout 肥硕 chain was snaking its way down through the blue-green ocean 洋.

"Seems to me they're taking a mighty 威武 long time about it," said Ned to Captain Britten after an hour had passed with no word from the three divers 潜水员.

"You're right," agreed the other. "Working at that depth it's decidedly 果断地 unsafe 不安全 to stay below so long. I'll warn Tom."

"Can't be done!" was that young man's decisive 决定性的 answer to the old salvage 打捞 expert 专家's warning. "This is a tougher 坚强的 job than I thought, for the bottom of the stone seems to be sinking 淹没 slowly. If we can't finish our job now I'm afraid we'll lose our prize 奖赏. But don't worry. We ought to be through in another twenty 二十 minutes."

The twenty 二十 minutes passed, and another like period was nearly run through before Tom announced 宣布 himself and the other two ready to come to the surface.

To avoid the dreaded 恐惧 "bends," an affliction suffered by divers 潜水员 drawn draw to the surface too rapidly, they made their ascent 上升 as slowly as their descent 下降. Thus it was that the great meteorite 陨石 reached the top long before Tom and the two natives did.

"What in the name o' tar‧nation 柏油‧国家 did he want with that?" demanded Captain Britten as the giant stone was lowered cautiously 小心的 to the deck 甲板. Weighing many tons 吨, it had tilted 倾斜 the barge 驳船 far over to one side as the powerful 强大 derrick drew it up. "It looks like some old rock a man might pick up 'most any place."

"Oh, Tom Swift usually has a good reason for everything he does," smiled Ned noncommittally. "I'm no scientist, but he is, so perhaps he wants to experiment with this stone from another planet."

At last the three divers 潜水员 reached the surface and were hauled 运输 rapidly up to the deck 甲板 of the barge 驳船. All of them appeared exhausted 排气, but Tom's eyes expressed the greatest satisfaction 满足 when he saw the meteorite 陨石 safely aboard 船上.

At his request the tug 拖船 was put under way and the "Betsy B." started back to her home port 港口 in Key West. During the trip Tom managed to cut from the meteorite 陨石 a fifty 五十-pound chunk 块.

"I'm very eager to see if this stone contains more X," he explained to Ned, "so I'm planning to fly straight home with this sample to analyze 分析 it. I want you to put the rest of the meteorite 陨石 on a fast freight 货物 train and travel north with it."

The sun was setting when the dock 码头 at Key West was reached. Tom waited no longer than was necessary to take on a supply of gasoline 汽油 for the "Winged Arrow." He paid Captain Britten a generous 慷慨的 fee 费用 and added a bonus 奖金 for the divers 潜水员 who had helped him. Then with a hasty 匆 good-bye 再见 the excited young inventor roared 咆哮 off in the gathering darkness 黑暗 toward his distant 遥远的 home.

After an uneventful flight 飞行 he reached Shopton at about half-past one the following morning. The wheels of the plane 平面 had barely 光秃秃的 stopped turning when the tall figure of Koku came rushing 仓促 out of the shadows of the hangar to greet 欢迎 his master.

"You're right on the job!" exclaimed 喊叫 Tom, climbing stiffly from the cabin 舱. "How is everything?"

"All thing good!" declared the giant, grinning 微笑 to see the young inventor back. "Catchum sky‧stone 天（空）‧石头?"

"We caught it, all right. You might tote this sample of it over to the lab 实验室." Tom handed his servant the segment 部分；片；段；瓣；节；弓形 he had chiseled from the main mass.

"Master knows 'bout 回合 secret cave 洞穴 under lab 实验室'tory?" questioned the giant as the two walked across the field in the moon‧light 月光.

" Cave? Oh, you mean the vault 拱顶?" asked Tom, who had been thinking of other matters.

"Night you go 'way in sky-bird, Koku watch. Koku hear bell 钟 go ting-ting-ting!"

Suddenly Tom was paying strict 严格的 attention.

"Great Scott! D'you mean to say someone broke into my Chest of Secrets? Tell me about it quickly!"

---

CHAPTER X

SUCCESS

"Me tell!" said Koku. "Hear bell, know bad mans hide in cave 洞穴. I creep 爬行 up an' watch!" His dramatic 戏剧性 pause 暂停 might have seemed funny 有趣的 at any other time but Tom was badly 很糟地 worried.

"Hurry up!" commanded the young inventor sharply, grabbing 用手抓 the giant's arm. "What happened?"

"Nothing happen US," answered Koku. "Plenty happen HIM! I catchum fella, crawl 爬行 up fum cave 3, knockum out, callum police‧man 警察."

"Good boy! You rate a new suit for that. You can tell the tailor 裁缝 to make it as loud as you like!"

Nothing could have pleased the simple giant more, for he loved to dress up in gaudy clothes, a trait 特征 left over from his savage 野蛮人 life before the young inventor had brought him to America.

Too excited to sleep, Tom Swift went straight to his office and called the police station. The desk sergeant 军士 verified 校验 what Koku had said and asked the young scientist to come down and prefer charges.

As he was about to leave he saw on top of his accumulated 积累 mail a letter from the Apex Glass Works. It was from Mr. Stern. The man advised Tom that he suspected 怀疑；嫌疑犯 two discharged 卸货 workmen as the pair who had attempted to rob 抢劫 him. Photographs were enclosed 围起来.

"That he, Master!" suddenly boomed 繁荣 Koku, who had been gazing 凝视 at the photos 照片，像片. "That man steal green glass thing I ketch back!"

"By Jove, I believe you're right!" declared Tom. "This picture most certainly resembles 类似 the fellow you dragged in here. Come on, you and I will go over to the jail 监狱 and check up."

Late as the hour was, the two took out a car and hastened over to the county 县 prison. No sooner had the sleepy 困 officer on duty conducted 进行 them back to the prisoner 犯人，囚犯's cell 细胞 than Tom immediately recognized the man as the one Koku had captured 捕获 with the green disk 磁盘.

Eager to get off as lightly as possible, the fellow, who had been a confidential 秘密的 clerk 店员 in the main offices of the glass works, made a full confession 承认.

"It was Hammer 铁锤 who got me into this, Mr. Swift," whined 抱怨 Anton. "He over‧hear 偷听 Mr. Stern talking about your experiments with bend‧able 弯曲‧能够的 glass. He said you'd surely succeed and that the invention would be worth a for‧tune 命运. So we decided to steal your formula 5. I've got a sick wife, Mr. Swift—"

"A pack of lies!" roughly interrupted the police‧man 警察. "He's a single man, Mr. Swift, and has a police record to boot 靴；鞋!"

"Well, hold him. And I hope you will catch his confederate."

"Don't worry. The boys'll bring him in!"

Although the hour was late, Tom decided to return to the laboratory 实验室 and inspect 检查 the vault 拱顶. There had been a certain sly expression in Anton's eyes which had vaguely 依稀 disturbed 打扰 the inventor. It was as if the man were holding something back and grinning 微笑 over it.

In a few minutes Tom's feeling was proven correct, for the formula dealing with the flexible 灵活 glass was gone! Koku, when questioned, admitted that he had seen some papers drop from Anton's pocket when he had seized 抓住 him just outside the laboratory 实验室, but the simple giant had paid no attention to them. There followed a frantic 疯狂的 search with a flash‧light 使闪光‧光；灯 by Tom but there was no trace 跟踪 of the missing documents 文件.

"They couldn't have blown blow away!" he declared. "They were clipped 夹 together by a special heavy binder. Somebody must have picked them up!"

When Tom visited Anton in jail 监狱 the next day, the fellow denied 拒绝 loudly 响亮的 that he had taken anything. The police promised to redouble their efforts to capture 捕获 Hammer 4. With that assurance 保证 the inventor was forced to content himself.

The next few days Tom was so busy that he gave only an occasional 偶然 thought to his loss. Analysis 分析 of the sample cut from the meteorite 陨石 showed that it was even richer than he had hoped in the new substance, X. Immediately he telegraphed a large science supply house for huge 巨大 flasks 烧瓶, beakers, retorts 反驳 and other paraphernalia necessary to extract 提取 and refine 提炼 the material.

This done, he arranged for the loan of a large refracting telescope 望远镜 from a near-by observatory to be used in conjunction 连词 with the big green disk 磁盘 he proposed to make. Professor 教授 Standish of the college was so interested in the project 项目 that Tom invited him to the forthcoming 即将到来 test.

Work was begun on an improvised 凑合 observatory to be erected 直立 on a mountain in the Adirondacks. This would place the telescope 望远镜 above most of the blurring 模糊 effects of the dense 稠密, lower atmosphere 大气层, filled as it is with smoke and dust.

Ned Newton wired that the meteorite 陨石 had been safely placed on a fast freight 货物 train. He added that he was traveling in the caboose of the same train by special arrangement 安排 with the road officials. Tom met his chum at the station.

"How do you like riding in style 样式?" he teased 逗.

"Humph!" grunted 咕噜 Ned. "I'll take a plane 平面 next time."

A huge 巨大 truck transported 运输 the planet stone to the shops of the Swift Construction 施工 Company. One of the buildings had been cleared of all other work, and in it a very large furnace 炉 had been erected 直立 to cast 投 the green disk 磁盘. Powerful 强大 mechanisms 机制 crushed 压破 the meteorite 陨石 to a fine powder which was dissolved 溶解 by strong acids 酸, then separated into its various ingredients 成分.

"The furnace 炉 will have to be enlarged 放大!" declared Tom. "I had planned to make a disk 磁盘 twenty 二十 feet long but there is so much X that we can easily make it thirty 三十-five feet. There'll still be several hundred 百 pounds left."

"Why not use it all and make the biggest 'scope 范围 you can?" suggested Ned Newton.

"I believe this will be large enough. Besides, I have an idea that the X has other and even more remark‧able 非凡的；奇异的；引人注目的 powers. I don't want to use it all up in this device 设备."

A gang 结伙 of men had been employed to clear a trail up the side of the mountain in the Adirondacks and construct 构造 a road to the summit 首脑 as none ever had been made to the spot Tom intended to use. A specially large motor truck was built to carry first the telescope 望远镜, then the giant green disk 磁盘.

It may well be supposed that all these preparations 制备 ran into money. Many a groan 呻吟 did Ned give when he studied the mounting 增加 cost sheets. Tom, however, was deaf 聋的 to all his chum's protestations.

"I had hoped your new bend‧able 弯曲‧能够的 glass would more than repay 偿还 the cost of your telescope 望远镜," grumbled 叽 Ned. "That's gone, and it looks to me as though everything else'll go too. The Swift Construction 施工 Company will soon be bankrupt 破产者, Tom Swift, if you don't slow down!"

"What do you mean, my flexible 灵活 glass is gone? Why, I've had an application on file 文件 in the Patent Office for several months."

"Well, for Pete's sake 缘故, why didn't you tell me? Here I've been worrying my head off for nothing!"

"Sorry, old man. But you know I've had a lot on my mind. However, we must get back the papers, for the thief 小偷 can make things pretty uncomfortable 不舒服 if he chooses to."

As Tom had found out, X would be useful 有用 only in an absolutely pure state. To refine 提炼 it to the proper degree was a painfully 痛苦 slow process, taking in this case a full six weeks. While his chemists 化学家 labored 劳动 away under the young inventor's super‧vision 监督, everything else had been made ready. At last the new element 元件 was prepared. The tons of yellow powder were dumped 倾倒 into the heated furnace 炉.

Three days later the stuff had cooled sufficiently 充分地 for an inspection 检查 to be made. A traveling crane 起重机 slowly hoisted 提升 the massive 大规模的 iron 铁器 lid 盖子 of the electric furnace 炉. Tom climbed a ladder 梯子 and peered 窥视 down.

"It's perfect!" he shouted a moment later. Mr. Damon and Barton Swift were standing anxiously with Ned and the workmen to hear the verdict 判决书. At the young inventor's words the group gave a cheer 欢呼.

"Bless my stars and planets!" cried Mr. Damon, cape‧ring 海角；斗篷‧戒指；打电话 about like a boy. "I can hardly wait till 到 you have your big glass set up!"

"It won't be long now," promised Tom, much pleased himself.

While the giant disk 磁盘 was being given a final 最后 electrical 电动 treatment 治疗, the youthful 青春的 inventor was called to the police station. The fugitive 逃亡 crook 弯曲, Hammer 5, had finally been nabbed, still with the formula for the bend‧able 弯曲‧能够的 glass in his possession 所有物. Tom was glad to get this back, even though patent 专利 proceedings 继续 were under way, for anyone holding the papers could have instituted 研究所 a costly legal 法律 contest 比赛.

At last the time arrived when the great disk 磁盘 was wrapped 包 in hundreds 百 of bales 包 of cotton 棉, suspended 暂停 on racks 架 and loaded onto the great truck. Tom insisted 咬定 upon riding with his precious 3 creation 创建. The rest of his party, including his father, Ned Newton, Mr. Damon, Professor 教授 Standish, Koku and Rad, traveled by train to the foot of the mountain.

"Massa Tom gonna look about six scrillion miles froo space," confided 信任 Eradicate Sampson to Koku. The old Negro leaned heavily 很大，沉重地 upon the massive 大规模的 arm of his huge 巨大 companion 同伴. "He see wonderful 精彩 things!"

"He sure make big medicine 医学!" declared the giant, for once agreeing with his old rival 对手. He had only the vaguest 模糊 idea about what his master was attempting.

When the entire group assembled 集合 on top the mountain there was a sudden hush 嘘. The sun had set in a fiery 火热 glow 辉光 that presaged a clear night, and now darkness 黑暗 overtook the expect‧ant 期望‧蚂蚁 onlookers.

At last Tom stepped to the giant telescope 望远镜 and adjusted 改变；调节 it upon the planet Mars. He electrified the immense 极大的 disk 磁盘, which glowed 辉光, then could not be seen at all.

Looking through the eye‧piece 眼睛‧块, the young inventor stood as though transfixed. One minute! Two!

"Tom! How does it work?" asked Ned finally, unable 无法 to rest‧rain 抑制 himself any longer.

"Look for your‧self 你自己!" cried Tom, turning from the instrument. His face wore wear an expression of awe 威严.

Ned quickly took his place.

"Marvelous!" he exclaimed 喊叫.

Before his eyes were revealed 揭示 a great city, nearly seventy 七十-five million miles distant 3!

Peculiar people surged 浪涌 along the avenues, weird 奇怪的 air‧craft 飞机 thronged 人群 the upper atmosphere 大气层, and gigantic 巨大 buildings and palaces 宫 dotted 点 the place. All on far-distant Mars!

As each one in Tom's party saw the wonderful 精彩 sight, he in turn congratulated 祝贺 the youthful 青春的 inventor in his own way. Ned grasped 把握 his chum's hand but could say nothing. Mr. Damon blessed 祝福 the distant stars. Koku and Rad fell upon their knees. Into the eyes of Barton Swift came tears as he said:

"Tom, my son, you have performed the greatest miracle 奇迹 of the Age!"