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

THE EARTHQUAKE

"Tom, we're having a problem with the gyro-stabilizer 稳定," said Mark Faber, gray-haired president of the Faber Electronics Company. "Hope you can find out what's wrong."

The eighteen 十八-year-old inventor 发明家 accepted the challenge 挑战 with a smile. "I'll be glad 高兴的 to try, sir 先生," he replied.

Bud Barclay, a dark-haired young flier and Tom Swift Jr.'s closest friend, chuckled 暗笑. "If anyone can get the bugs 虫；窃听器 out of your new invention 发明, genius 天才 boy here will do it!"

The two boys followed Mr. Faber and his engineers to a wooden 木制的 building which was tightly 紧的 guarded. Inside, a secret rocket 火箭-telemetering device 设备 was mounted 增加 on its test stand.

"As you know, Tom," Mr. Faber began, "the usual conditions of rocket 火箭 flight 飞行 will be—"

He broke break off with a gasp 喘气 of astonishment 惊愕 as the whole building suddenly began to shake.

"Good grief 哀思!" Bud exclaimed 喊叫. "This isn't part of your testing routine 惯例，常规；例行公事, is it?"

His question was drowned 淹死 out by cries of alarm 警告 and the sound of cracking 破裂 glass. The walls and roof were shuddering 不寒而栗 and creaking 吱吱, and the concrete 具体 floor was heaving 举起 under their feet.

"Look out! The test stand's breaking loose!" Tom warned.

Mr. Faber and two of his men tried frantically 疯狂 to brace 支撑 the heavy test stand which held the telemetering device 设备. Another engineer rushed 仓促 toward the door to see what was happening outside. Before he reached it, another shock knocked 敲 all of them off their feet.

Electronic 电子 equipment 设备 cascaded 级联 from the wall shelves, and a heavy-duty chain hoist 提升 came loose from its over‧head 高架 track 小路, plunging 跳水 to the floor with a terrifying 惊吓 crash 碰撞.

"An earthquake 地震!" Tom gasped 喘气.

Bud, mean‧while 同时, clawed 爪 a hand‧hold 手‧拿住 on a wire screen enclosing 围起来 an air compressor and pulled himself to his feet. But the next moment a third, more violent 猛烈 tremor 震 rocked the building, knocking 敲 him over. "The roof! It's caving 洞穴 in!" he heard someone scream 叫喊.

As his eyes flashed 使闪光 upward 向上 in panic 恐慌, Bud caught catch a brief 简要 glimpse 一瞥 of the ponderous test stand with the price‧less 无价 telemeter tilting 倾斜 to one side. An instant 瞬间 later it crashed 碰撞 over, pinning 钉 Mark Faber beneath 之下 it!

Bud threw throw up his arms to protect himself, but too late! A falling beam 梁 caught him on the back of the head and the young flier blacked out.

For minutes, no one stirred 搅动 among the wreck‧age 残骸. Then Tom, who had been stunned 击晕 by some falling debris 废墟, raised himself to a sitting position.

"Good night!" Tom's eyes focused 焦点 in horror 恐怖 on the wreck‧age 残骸 enveloped 信封 by still-billowing dust.

The sky was visible 可以看见的；可视的 through several gaping 盱；目瞪口呆 holes in the roof, which was sagging 下垂 dangerously 危险 on its supporting trusses. Only two thirds of the walls were still standing.

Suddenly Tom stiffened 弄硬 in fear. "Bud!" The young inventor 发明家 had just noticed his friend lying pinned 钉 beneath 之下 a heavy beam 梁 nearby 附近. Was he still breathing 呼吸?

Disregarding his own injuries 伤, Tom hastily 草草 freed himself from the debris 废墟 and groped 摸索 his way to Bud's side. With a desperate 殊死 heave 举起, he shoved 推 the beam away, then cradled 摇篮 Bud's head in his arm. His friend's eyelids 眼皮 flickered 闪烁.

"Are you all right?" Tom asked fearfully 可怕.

The answer came in a groan 呻吟. "O-oh!... Wow!... What hit me?"

"You got conked by a falling timber 木材. Or grazed 轻擦, at least," Tom added thankfully 感激地. "If that beam 3 had landed square on your noggin, even a rock-head like you couldn't have survived 生存!"

Bud managed to grin 微笑. "We grow 'em tough 坚强的 out in California where I come from!" he joked 笑话.

Some‧what 有些 shakily 摇摇欲坠, Bud got to his feet with Tom's assistance 帮助. Both boys were heart‧sick 心‧病；恶心 as they surveyed 调查 the damaged 损害 laboratory 实验室, wondering where to begin rescue 营救 operations.

"It was a quake," Bud stated grimly 严峻. He had heard about the great San Francisco earthquake 地震 from his grand‧father 祖父, and had no doubt about the nature of the tremors 震.

Just then Tom glimpsed 一瞥 a body protruding 突出 from under the wreck‧age 残骸 of the telemetering device 设备.

"Mr. Faber!" he gasped 喘气.

The two boys scrambled 争夺 through the clutter 杂波 of debris 废墟 toward the spot where the test stand had been erected 直立. Bud seized 抓住 a slender 苗条, steel 钢 I beam and managed to pry 撬 up the wreck‧age 残骸 while Tom carefully 小心 extricated Mr. Faber.

The scientist 科学家 seemed to be badly 很糟地 injured 损伤. "We'd better not try to move him," Tom decided. "We'll get an ambulance 救护车."

Of the four other company engineers, two were now stirring 搅动 and partly conscious. The boys found a first-aid 援助 cabinet 内阁 and gave what help they could to them and the other two men. Then Tom taped 胶带 a band‧age 绷带 on Bud's scalp 头皮 wound 创伤.

"Let's see if we can find a telephone and call the local hospital," Tom said.

"Right!" Bud responded 响应.

They picked their way through the wreck‧age 残骸 and emerged 出现 on a scene of frightful destruction 破坏. The main plant building of Faber Electronics had been partially 部分 demolished 拆除 by the quake. Power lines were down and an outlying storage 存储 shed was ablaze. Dazed and panic 恐慌-stricken survivors 幸存者 were wandering 漫步 around aimlessly or rushing 仓促 about to assist 帮助；协助；援助 the injured 损伤.

"Good thing the main shift 转移 of workers 工人 knocked off before this happened," Bud observed with a shudder 不寒而栗. "There would've been a lot more casualties 受害者."

"Look!" Tom pointed to a huge 巨大 crevasse. "Right where we landed our Whirling Duck 鸭子!"

The boys exchanged rueful glances 一瞥 as they realized that the craft 手艺 which had brought them to Faber Electronics—one of Tom's unique 独特 helijets—had been swallowed 吞 up in the gaping 盱；目瞪口呆 chasm.

"No use fussing 小题大作 about it now," Tom said. "Come on, Bud! Let's see about getting help for Mr. Faber!"

Despite 尽管 the chaotic 混乱的 confusion 混乱, the boys managed to locate 定位 the plant superintendent 所长—a harried, middle-aged man named Simkins—who was doing his best to restore 修复；使复位；使复职 order. Simkins, who had not been injured 损伤, informed them that electricians were rigging 操纵 an emergency 急 telephone line in order to get through to the nearby 附近 town of Harkness.

"Mr. Faber is badly 很糟地 injured 损伤," Tom said. "Why not send a car? It's only a few miles away, isn't it?"

"I'll send the plant nurse 护士 to him," Simkins said. "As for going to town, take a look at the parking 公园 lot." He pointed with a jerk 混蛋 of his thumb 拇指. The cars on the lot had been smashed 粉碎 into junk 破烂 by bricks 砖 from a collapsing 坍方 wall of one of the buildings. "And the only truck we had available was in that burning shed," the superintendent 所长 added bitterly.

" Tough 坚强的 break," Tom sympathized 同情. " Anyhow 总之, we want to help. Got a job for us?"

Simkins was only too glad 高兴的 to put Tom's quick mind and keen 热切的 technical 技术 know-how to use. Within minutes, Tom was in charge of clearing away rubble 瓦砾 and extricating anyone who might be trapped 陷阱；诱骗 inside the buildings. Bud organized a fire-fighting crew 全体工作人员；全体船员 to keep the blaze 火焰 in the shed from spreading.

The telephone line was soon repaired 修理 and a steady stream of rescue 营救 vehicles 车辆 began arriving from Harkness—fire trucks, three ambulances 救护车, and private cars driven drive by volunteers 志愿者.

Two hours later there was nothing more Tom and Bud could do at the disaster 灾难，大祸 scene and they hitched 拴住 a ride into Harkness. The town had suffered some damage 损害, though only slight compared to the destruction 破坏 at the plant.

"The center of the quake was right under Faber Electronics," Tom remarked.

From a pay telephone, he called Swift Enterprises in Shopton. This was the experimental 试验 station where he and his father developed their many amazing 使大为惊奇，使惊愕 inventions 发明. Tom asked the operator to send a helicopter 直升机 immediately to pick them up. He also called home and spoke speak to his sister 姐妹, Sandra.

"What a relief!" Sandy gasped 喘气. "We heard a bulletin 公告 about the quake over the radio!"

"Don't worry, Sis. Tell Mother and Dad 爸 that we're okay 好的," Tom said. "We'll be home in a jiffy—with big appetites 食欲!"

The helicopter 直升机 arrived within twenty 二十 minutes at the place Tom had named. After landing at Enterprises, the boys drove drive to the pleasant, tree-shaded 遮阳；阴 Swift home on the out‧skirt 郊区 of town.

Mrs. Swift, a slender 苗条, petite woman, tried not to show concern when she saw the boys, bruised 挫伤 and disheveled. "I'm so thankful 感谢 you're both safe!" she murmured 私语.

Blond, blue-eyed Sandy, who was a year younger than Tom, had invited her friend Phyllis Newton to the house for dinner. Phyl, a pretty, dark-haired girl, was the daughter of Mr. Swift's long-time friend and business associate 关联, " Uncle 叔叔 Ned" Newton. The two girls were as much upset 打翻 as Tom's mother.

Tom laughed. "We're not stretcher cases," he said. "Why, one of the ambulance 救护车 doctors checked us out."

Bud groaned 呻吟. "Why did you have to go and spoil 损坏；变质 it?" he complained 抱怨 jokingly. "I was all set for Sandy's cool soothing 缓和 touch on my fevered 发热 brow 眉头!"

Mr. Swift came into the living room just then and told Tom how worried Mrs. Swift and Sandy had been. "I tried to assure 向…保证；肯定地说 them that you and Bud can take care of yourselves in any crisis 危机." He smiled guiltily 有罪的；内疚的 as he added, "But I must admit I was more than a little concerned myself 我."

As Tom grinned 微笑, the resemblance 相似 between him and his father was very evident 明显. Both had the same clean-cut features 特征 and deep-set blue eyes, although Tom Jr. was lankier and taller.

After the two boys had showered 阵雨 and changed their clothes, Mrs. Swift served them a delicious 美味的, hot meal 餐. While they ate, Mr. Swift managed after some difficulty to get a call through to the Harkness Hospital. His face was grave 坟墓；严重的 as he hung up.

"Mark Faber is not expected to live," the elder 年长的 inventor 发明家 reported. "A pity 怜悯. He's a great scientist 科学家."

Tom nodded 点头 unhappily 不快乐. Sandy, to take her brother's mind off the disaster 灾难，大祸, said, "Dad 爸, tell Tom and Bud about the visitor 访问者 who's coming."

"A visitor?" Tom looked at his father.

"From another planet 行星," Mr. Swift revealed 揭示.

Both boys were amazed 惊奇 and excited. "Wow!" Bud gasped 喘气. " Male 男性的 or female? Human or animal?"

Mr. Swift's eyes twinkled 眨眼. "None of those," he replied as the boys stared, mystified.

CHAPTER II

THE MYSTERIOUS HITCHHIKER

Tom and Bud were bursting 爆裂 with curiosity 好奇心. Although the Swifts had been in radio contact 联系 with creatures 动物；生物 from outer space for many months, this was the most exciting news yet!

On one occasion, the unknown 未知 beings 蜜蜂 had moved a small asteroid 小行星—the phantom satellite 卫星 Nestria—into orbit 轨道 about the earth. Later they had sent send strange samples of the animal life of their planet 行星, aboard 船上 orbiting 轨道 missiles, to be studied by the Swifts. They had also helped Tom, Bud, and Mr. Swift a number of times when their lives were at stake 赌注 while on daring 敢 voyages 旅行 beyond the earth. What was their latest intention?

The telephone rang and Sandy went to answer it.

"For Pete's sake 缘故, Dad 爸," Tom pleaded 求情, "don't keep us in suspense 悬念! Who or what is this visitor?"

Mr. Swift smiled at the boys' baffled 障 expressions. "The fact is that a message came through today that—"

He was interrupted 打断 by Sandy who had come to the door. "The phone call's for you, Dad 爸. Long distance from Washington."

Bud groaned 呻吟 as Mr. Swift went off to take the call. "It's a conspiracy 阴谋," Bud said. "Everyone's ganging 结伙 up to keep us from finding out about that mysterious 神秘 visitor!"

Tom grinned 微笑. "We lasted through an earthquake 地震 this afternoon, pal 朋友," he said consolingly. "I guess we can last through a phone call."

Inwardly Tom was as impatient 不耐烦 as Bud about the exact nature of the message.

Several months ago, the space creatures had sent their first communication 通讯 in the form of mathematical 数学的 symbols 标志，象征 carved 雕刻 on a black missile which had landed on the grounds of Swift Enterprises.

Tom and his father had decoded 解码 the symbols and beamed 梁 out a reply over a powerful 强大 radio transmitter 发射机. Later messages had been picked up by radio telescope 望远镜 and converted 转变 to appear as symbols on the oscilloscope screen.

"Sandy must know what it's all about," Bud broke in. "She's the one who first mentioned the visitor."

"Of course I know," Sandy said mysteriously 神秘. "So does Mother and so does Phyl. But don't think we're going to give it away!" she added teasingly.

Tom and Bud cajoled the two girls and Mrs. Swift for further information. But Sandy and Phyl only shook shake their heads, obviously 明显 enjoying the situation.

"At last we're getting back at them for the way they've neglected 疏忽 us!" Phyl said, her brown eyes sparkling 火花 with laughter 笑.

"Come on, Mother!" Tom said. "Be a sport. You tell us!"

But Mrs. Swift too shook her head. "I'm sorry 对不起的, Tom," she demurred gently, "but I think the girls are right. I'll say this much, though," she relented, "it will be the biggest challenge 挑战 that Tom Swift Jr. and Sr. have ever faced!"

"Whew!" Bud remarked as the two boys glanced 一瞥 at each other. "That must mean it's plenty big news! It would have to be, skipper 船长, to top all the other jobs you and your dad 爸 have taken on!"

Conquering outer space, probing 探测 the ocean 洋's secrets, drilling 钻头 to the earth's core 核心—these were only a few of Tom Swift's many exciting exploits 利用.

In his first adventure 冒险活动, Tom, in his Flying Lab, had gone to South America to fend 挡开 off a gang 结伙 of rebels 反叛 seeking 寻求 a valuable 贵重的 radio‧active 放射性的 ore 矿石 deposit 留下. In his most recent challenge 挑战, Tom had defied 违抗 the threats 威胁 of Oriental killers 凶手 determined to ferret 鼬 out the secret of the Swifts' latest space research.

As the two boys silently recalled 召回 the exciting events of the past months, Mr. Swift returned to the living room.

Tom and Bud leaned lean forward in their chairs. "Well, boys," Mr. Swift said, "as I started to tell you, the space receiver picked up a message today from our unknown 未知 planetary 行星 friends. The message informed us that they are sending a visitor to earth—a visitor consisting 组成 of pure energy 能源!"

"Energy 能源?" Tom was startled 惊吓. "I don't get it, Dad 爸!"

"Frankly, I don't quite understand it myself 我," Tom Sr. confessed 供认. "The message didn't explain how or in what form the energy 能源 would arrive. But, at any rate, they want us to construct 构造 some sort of container for it."

The elder 年长的 scientist paused 暂停 thoughtfully 沉思地. "In my opinion, the energy 能源 which they speak of must be a sort of invisible 无形 brain. The symbols were rather difficult to decode 解码, but apparently 据…所知；看来；据说；听说 our job will be to construct 构造 a device 设备 through which the energy 能源 will be able to receive impressions 印象 of what life is like here on earth, and also to communicate 通信 its own responses 响应 to us."

Tom sat sit bolt 螺栓 upright 直立的. "Dad 爸, this is terrific 了不起 news!" he exclaimed 喊叫. "If we're able to make this energy 能源 or 'brain' communicate 通信, it may be able to tell us what the space people are like!"

Mr. Swift nodded 点头, his own eyes blazing 火焰 with as much excitement 激动 as Tom's were.

Bud, too, was deeply impressed 给…留下深刻印象；使钦佩 but could not resist 抵抗 quipping, "What sort of body will you give it? How about a beautiful 美丽, superintelligent space girl for me to date?"

"Nothing doing!" Sandy retorted 反驳 mischievously. "I insist 咬定 on a hand‧some 英俊 young man who'd have time to take two nice earth girls out on dates!"

"Ouch!" Bud pretended 假装 to wince WINCE. "I really left myself 我 wide open for that one!"

Mrs. Swift put in, "Goodness, mightn't it get out of control and be rather over‧power 压倒? Suppose it went berserk!"

"Rather an unpleasant 不愉快 possibility 可能性," Mr. Swift agreed, smiling wryly 扭歪. "But I trust our space friends wouldn't let that happen."

Both he and Tom became thoughtful 周到 as they discussed the problem.

"The energy 能源 will arrive in two weeks," Mr. Swift added. "Unfortunately 不幸 that phone call was a request that I go to Washington on urgent 急迫的 government business. So you may have to take over and work out a solution on your own, Tom."

It was a sobering 清醒 thought to the young inventor 发明家. "You were right, Mother. This is a terrific 了不起 challenge 挑战."

Soon after‧ward 之后, the little gathering broke up. Bud, who had left his own convertible 可兑换 at the Swifts' that morning, offered to drop Phyl at her home.

Tom awoke 醒着的:awake the next morning, refreshed 使恢复 by a good night's sleep. After a hearty 爽朗 break‧fast 早餐 of bacon 培根 and eggs 鸡蛋, he drove off to Enterprises in his low-slung silver 银 sports car.

"Think I'll listen to the news," Tom thought, and switched 开关 on his dash‧board 短跑‧板，上船 radio.

A moment later the announcer 宣布's voice came over the loud 响亮的-speaker. "Casualties from yesterday's disastrous 惨重 earthquake 地震 now total thirty 三十-one injured 损伤," the announcer 宣布 reported. "Most of these are employees of the Faber Electronics plant and four are in critical 危急 condition. There is one note of cheer 欢呼, however. At last report, Mark Faber, the brilliant 出色的 president of the company, is now expected to recover 恢复." Tom gave a thankful 感谢 sigh 叹 of relief.

The announcer 宣布 continued, "The nearby 附近 town of Harkness was only lightly damaged, but the plant itself 本身 was almost totally demolished 拆除. No estimate 估计 of the losses has been released 发布, but will certainly run into millions of dollars, including some highly secret defense items 项目 which were being developed at the plant. Scientists are puzzled 使迷惑 by the severity 严重 of the quake in what had been considered a 'dead' area."

For the first time Tom, too, was struck strike by this curious aspect 方面 of the disaster 灾难，大祸. So far as he knew, no serious tremors 震 had ever before been reported within hundreds 百 of miles of the region 地区.

He was mulling over the matter as he drove along a lonely 孤独的 wooded area, not far from Lake Carlopa. Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted as a man stepped out from among the trees ahead and gestured 手势 with his thumb 拇指 for a ride.

" Sorry 对不起的, mister 薄雾," Tom reflected, "but I've had trouble with hitchhikers before!" He shook his head to let the man know that he did not intend to stop.

To the young inventor 4's amazement 惊愕, the pedestrian 行人 deliberately 故意 stepped onto the road—squarely in the path 小路 of Tom's oncoming car!

Tom jammed 果酱 on the brakes 制动, and the silver 银 sports car screeched 尖叫 to a stop. Only a quick twist 扭成一束 of the wheel had prevented an accident 意外事件!

Some‧what 有些 angrily 生气的, Tom exclaimed 喊叫, "What's the big idea, mister 薄雾? Don't you realize you might have been—"

" Shut 关闭 up!" the stranger snarled 搞乱. In an instant 瞬间 the man had yanked 猛拉 open the door and climbed in beside Tom.

"Take me inside the grounds of Swift Enterprises," he commanded in a foreign accent 口音. "And no tricks 哄骗；诀窍 or you will regret 后悔 it!"

CHAPTER III

REPORT FROM INTERPOL

Tom, astonished 使惊讶, stared at the stranger.

"Who are you?" the young inventor 5 demanded.

"Never mind who I am. Just do as I say!"

By this time Tom had recovered 恢复 from his surprise and coolly sized up his enemy. The man was about thirty 三十 years old, with close-cropped 农作物 black hair. Steely eyes glinted in a lean, hard-jawed 下巴 face.

Tom wondered, "Should I risk a fight? Or is he armed?"

As if in answer, the stranger growled 吠声, "I gave you an order, my friend. Don't press your luck! Get going!"

As he spoke, the man thrust 推力 one hand deep into his coat pocket 口袋, and Tom felt something hard poke 戳 against his ribs 肋骨.

The young inventor drove on, but proceeded 继续 slowly. He wanted time to think. Presently Swift Enterprises, enclosed 围起来 by a high wall, came into view.

Tom's brain was working fast. At last he decided on a ruse. He would head for the main gate 门, get out, and use his electronic 电子 key without waiting for the guard to admit him. At the same time, he would press a secret warning bell 钟 to alert 警报 the Swift security 安全 force.

But the stranger seemed to read his thoughts. As Tom started to turn off toward the main gate, his passenger 乘客 snapped 卡, "Go to the private gate which you and your father use!"

"And if I refuse?"

Again the hard object poked 戳 into his ribs 肋骨. "You will be what you call in this country a dead duck 鸭子!" the stranger warned. "I will then let myself 我 in with your key!"

Tight 紧的-lipped, Tom drove on another half mile, then turned in at the private gate. The man got out with him as Tom walked up to the gate and beamed his electronic 电子 key at the hidden hide mechanism 机制. Instantly the gate swung swing open, then closed again automatically 自动 after the car passed through.

Tom parked in his usual spot. The stranger kept his hand in his pocket 口袋, still covering Tom but glancing 一瞥 around cautiously 小心的. The sprawling 蔓生 experimental 试验 station was a vast 广大 four-mile-square area with a cluster 簇 of gleaming 闪光 modern laboratory 实验室 buildings and work‧shop 作坊. In the distance, a tall glassed-in control tower 塔 over‧look 俯瞰 Enterprises' long runways 跑道 for jet 喷射 planes 平面.

Suddenly the stranger stiffened. A paunchy, bowlegged figure, topped by a white Texas sombrero, was coming straight toward them.

Tom's heart gave a leap 飞跃 of hope. The man was Chow Winkler, formerly a chuck 夹头-wagon 车皮 cook and now head chef 厨师 for the Swifts' expeditions 远征.

"Hi 嗨, boss 老板!" Chow bellowed 怒吼 in his foghorn voice. As usual he was wearing a gaudy cowboy 牛仔 shirt 衬衫. "Who's the new buckaroo?" the cook added, squinting at the stranger with open but friendly curiosity 好奇心.

"Why—actually I don't know his name yet, but he's looking for a job," Tom replied. Turning to the stranger, he added, "What is your name, mister 薄雾?"

The stranger glared 强光 from Tom to Chow, as if not certain what to answer.

Chow's eyes narrowed. He had detected 发现，察觉，看出 something strange in the way Tom addressed the fellow as "mister 薄雾," and had also noticed how the man kept one hand hidden hide in his pocket. Looking to Tom for a lead, Chow suddenly noticed the young inventor make a quick " thumbs 拇指 down" gesture 手势.

"My name is..." The man's voice fell fall to a mumble 咕哝, obscuring 朦胧 the syllables 音节. "Frankly I am not yet sure I desire a job here, but being an engineer, I thought perhaps—"

The man's gaze 凝视 switched 开关 back to Tom, and in that instant Chow jumped the intruder 侵入者. With surprising agility for his rotund bulk 块, the cook bore bear down on him and let fly a gnarled fist 拳头 at the stranger's jaw 下巴. Tom followed up like lightning 闪电, grabbing 用手抓 the man's wrist 腕 and yanking 猛拉 his hand out of his pocket.

He was clutching 离合器 a snub-nosed automatic 自动. Tom twisted 扭成一束 it from his grasp 把握 as the man landed, writhing on the hard ground grind. Chow quickly pinned his other arm and drove a knee into the man's solar 太阳能 plexus.

"Jest lie quiet now, you varmint, or you may git your‧self 你自己 roughed up a bit 一点," Chow warned, then added, "Who is he, Tom?"

"Search me. He stopped my car on the road and forced me to drive him in through the private gate. Boy, was I ever glad to see you, old-timer!"

Tom emptied out the clip 夹 of shells 壳. Then he searched the stranger while Chow continued holding him down. The man carried no wallet 钱包, papers, or other means of identification 鉴定.

"Brand 牌 my tumble‧weed 下跌‧杂草 salad 沙拉," Chow grumbled 叽, "he sure wasn't takin' no chances on people findin' out who he is! Which proves he's some sort o' crooked 弯曲 cow‧poke 奶牛‧戳! Honest 诚实的 ones ain't afeared o' showin' their own brand 牌!"

The man muttered 咕哝 something angrily in a foreign tongue 舌头. Chow merely pressed down harder with his knee. "What'll we do with him, boss 老板?"

"Let him up, Chow," Tom said. "Security 安全 should be here any second."

Even as he spoke, Tom glimpsed 一瞥 a jeep 吉普车 speeding toward them in the distance. The young inventor knew what had happened. Since the stranger did not have the special electronic 电子 wrist 腕 amulet worn wear by all Swift employees, his presence had automatically 自动 shown up on the master radar‧scope 雷达‧范围. A security 安全 squad 队 was coming to investigate 调查.

As Chow released 发布 the man, he got to his feet slowly. Then, without warning, he suddenly butted the cook square in the stomach 胃. Chow was knocked sprawling 蔓生!

Before Tom could counter the surprise attack, the man's fist 拳头 cracked 破裂 against his cheek‧bone 脸颊‧骨头. Tom, though stunned 击晕, lashed 睫毛 out. More punches 冲床 flew fly back and forth. Tom landed a stinging 叮 blow to his opponent 反对者；对手；敌手's midriff, then took a punishing 处罚 one himself.

Suddenly Tom felt the stranger's hand clawing 爪 at his pocket for the key to the gate. With all his wiry strength, Tom locked his arms around the man and wrestled 搏斗 him to the ground.

The stranger fought fight like a tiger 虎. But a second later a jeep 吉普车 screeched 尖叫 to a stop. Three security 安全 guards, led by stocky Phil Radnor, leaped 飞跃 out. Within moments they had the man subdued 征服.

Tom quickly briefed 简要 the security 安全 men on what had happened.

"All right, mister 薄雾, start talking!" snapped 卡 Radnor, head security 安全 police officer.

The man's only reply was a scowl of rage 愤怒.

"Okay 好的, take him away till 到 he cools off," Tom ordered.

Disheveled and still panting 喘气, the man was bundled 捆 into the jeep 吉普车 and driven off to the security 安全 building.

Tom arrived there by motor scooter several minutes later. Harlan Ames, the slim 瘦, dark-haired security 安全 chief of Enterprises, had taken charge of the case, and the prisoner 犯人，囚犯 was now being finger‧print 指纹 and photographed 照片.

"Any leads?" Tom inquired 打听.

Ames shook his head. "He won win't talk and we've nothing on him in our files 文件. His clothes have no tags 标签 or laundry 洗衣店 marks, but I'd say they're of foreign make."

Tom nodded 点头. "He's definitely 无疑 foreign. He spoke with an accent 口音 and he also muttered 咕哝 something at Chow—I didn't catch it, but it certainly wasn't in English."

Ames frowned 皱眉. "I don't like the looks of this, skipper 船长. He may be a spy 间谍."

"Have you notified 通知 the police?" Tom asked.

"Right. Also the FBI. They're on the way right now to pick him up. Maybe they'll be able to worm 虫 something out of him."

Tom spent spend the morning in routine 惯例，常规；例行公事 work in the big double office which he shared with his father in Enterprises' main building. It was equipped 装备 with huge 巨大 twin 双胞胎之一 modern desks, deep-pile 堆 carpeting 地毯, and roomy leather 皮 chairs.

Each of the two inventors 发明家 had his own drawing board, designed to swing out from the wall at the press of a button 按钮. Small scale models of some of their most famous 著名 inventions were also placed about the office, including a red-and- silver 银 replica 复制品 of Tom's first rocket 火箭 ship, the Star Spear; a blue plastic 塑料 model of the jetmarine in which he had fought a band of under‧sea 在…下面‧海 pirates 海盗; and also a gleaming 闪光 silvery model of Tom's latest, unique 独特 space craft 手艺, the Cosmic Sailer.

Because of his father's absence 缺席 in Washington, the burden 负荷，重负 of administering 管理 the vast 广大 experimental 试验 station now fell on Tom's youthful 青春的 shoulders. Telephone calls, letters, and other detailed work occupied 占据 him until noon 正午.

Chow broke in, bringing a lunch 午餐 tray 盘子 with milk 奶, a hot chicken 鸡 sandwich 三明治, and a chocolate 巧克力 eclair. Tom ate hungrily 饥饿.

"Kind o' peps up the ole supercharger, eh?" said Chow, lingering 萦绕 to chat 聊.

"Sure does," Tom agreed.

"Wal, jest remember that, an' don't go missin' any meals 餐—or sleep, either," Chow advised as he gathered up the tray 盘子. "A brainy young hombre like you needs plenty o' rest an' vitamins 维他命 to keep from burnin' himself out."

"I'll remember." Tom grinned 微笑 affectionately 亲热 as the leathery-faced old Texan took his leave. The Swifts had first met Chow when they were on an atomic 原子 research expedition 远征 in the Southwest. Chow had become so attached 连接 to Tom that he had returned to Shopton with the Swifts as a permanent 永久 employee.

Soon after Chow left the office, the telephone rang. Tom took the call and had just finished talking with Harlan Ames when Bud came strolling 漫步 in.

"Any more news on that nut 螺母 who jumped you this morning?" the young flier asked. "Ames told me about it."

"Not yet, but there may be soon," Tom said. "Harlan just phoned and said he'd had a call from Washington, asking us to stand by the video‧phone 影片‧电话 at one-thirty 三十 sharp."

Ames arrived in person shortly before the scheduled 时间表 time. Moments later, a red signal flashed on the control board of the Swifts' private TV net‧work 网. Tom flicked 拂去 on the video‧phone 影片‧电话 and two men appeared on the screen.

One was Blake, the Swifts' Washington, D.C., telecaster. He introduced the other man, a calm 镇定的-faced, balding 秃 individual in a dark suit.

"This is John Thurston of the Central 中央 Intelligence 情报 Agency, Tom," Blake said. "He thought it might be better to discuss this with you face to face."

Tom, Bud, and Ames were also visible 可以看见的；可视的 to the pair in Washington.

"Glad to know you, sir 先生," Tom said, and introduced his companions 同伴.

"We've identified 鉴定 the man you captured 捕获 this morning," Thurston began. "He's in the United States on a French pass‧port 护照 under the name of Jacques Renard. But we've just learned learn from the International Police Organization that he's actually a Brungarian. His name is Samson Narko."

Tom and Ames exchanged startled 惊吓 glances 一瞥. In the past, certain Brungarian fact‧ion 派 had been responsible for some of the most fiendish plots 情节 ever perpetrated against the Swifts.

"Unfortunately 不幸, that's not all," Thurston went on. "Interpol believes that Narko is also a member of the same rebel 反叛 outfit 配备 with whom 谁 you've had trouble before."

Tom was dismayed 沮丧 by the news. "I sure thought that group had been smashed 粉碎!" he said. Soon after Tom had balked their attempts to seize 抓住 the satellite 卫星 Nestria, the rebel 反叛 ringleaders had reportedly 据说 been arrested 逮捕 and tried for treason 叛逆.

"It now appears," Thurston explained, "that only one segment 部分；片；段；瓣；节；弓形 was quelled. Other members of the anti‧government 抗‧政府，团体 movement 运动 are active again and are said to be strongly organized."

The CIA man related even more sinister 险恶 news. It was suspected 怀疑；嫌疑犯 that a larger nation—by aiding 助手 the rebels 反叛—was planning a coup 政变 to take over Brungaria. They had already subverted various government agencies and were sending their own professors 教授 to staff the Brungarian technical 技术 schools. It was all part of their insidious fifth-column 柱 pattern.

"Many top Brungarian officials have joined the plotters," Thurston added, "and it's now becoming very difficult for anyone to enter or leave the country."

Ames asked for information on any rebel 反叛 sympathizers known to be in the United States. Thurston was able to tell him very little.

"We keep strict 严格的 tabs 标签, of course, on all Brungarians entering this country," Thurston explained. "But even though we screen them carefully 小心, a rebel 反叛 agent like Narko may slip in—usually on a stolen or faked 假 pass‧port 护照."

When the telecast ended, Tom, Bud, and Ames discussed the news grimly 严峻.

"What if Narko has pals 朋友 working with him?" Bud conjectured 推测.

"If he does," Tom said, "they may try carrying through Narko's mission 任务."

"I'll station extra 额外的 guards around the outer wall on twenty 二十-four-hour alert 警报," Ames promised.

Tom approved this measure wholeheartedly, but the purpose of Narko's secret mission 任务 remained a mystery. Why had he tried to force his way into Enterprises? What was he after? There was little hope of resolving 解决 these questions, since United States Intelligence 情报 had learned of the rebel 反叛 movement 运动 itself 本身 only within the past few days. Thurston had asked Tom and his companions 同伴 to treat the information as confidential 秘密的.

"I'd better get back to work," Tom decided after Bud and Ames had left his office. Tom sat down at his drawing board and began to sketch 草图 out some rough ideas for a vehicle 车辆 to house the "brain energy 能源" from space.

Tom wondered if the brain would be able to perform actions by itself 本身, given the proper mechanical 机械 output 产量 devices 设备. Or would he have to help it function 功能 via 通过 an electronic 电子 computer to digest 挖 incoming 来 information or stimuli and then to respond 响应 through servo controls?

The problem was so baffling 障 and complex 复杂 that Tom became completely oblivious 浑然不觉 to the passage of time. He sketched 草图 out plan after plan, only to crumple 弄皱 and discard 丢弃 each one.

Suddenly a disturbing 打扰 thought jarred 罐 the young inventor out of his concentration 浓度. Perhaps the Brungarian rebel 反叛 scientists 科学家 had now figured out how to decode 解码 the radio messages from the Swifts' space friends!

If so, when the brain energy 能源 was launched 发射 toward earth, they might try to divert 转移 it to their own receiving setup 建立!

CHAPTER IV

ANOTHER TREMOR!

Tom was appalled 惊恐 at this new danger. Shoving his drawing board back into its wall slot 插槽, the young inventor hurried to his desk and made a number of telephone calls.

Within minutes, a group of five of his most trusted associates 关联 had assembled 集合 in Tom's office. First to arrive were Bud Barclay, Ames, and George Dilling, the Swifts' communications 通讯 chief. They were joined moments later by Hank Sterling, the square-jawed chief engineer and trouble shooter of Enterprises, and Arvid Hanson.

Hanson, a hulking six-footer, made all the delicate 微妙的；纤弱的 scale models of Tom Jr.'s and Tom Sr.'s inventions. He was not only an expert 专家 craftsman 匠, but, like all the Swifts' key men, a trained air‧craft 飞机 and space pilot 飞行员 as well.

"What's up, skipper 船长?" Bud asked.

"I guess you might call this a council of war," Tom replied.

He divulged his fears that Brungarian scientists might hijack 劫持 the brain energy 能源 to be sent from Planet X, home of the Swifts' unknown 未知 space friends.

"Bud, you recall 召回 Mother's remark last night about the danger that this energy 能源 may prove overwhelmingly 压倒性 powerful 强大," Tom went on. "Well, just suppose that our Brungarian pals 朋友 fit it out in robot 机器人 form, then turn it loose against us or our friends in other countries."

Bud gave an awed 威严 whistle 吹口哨. "Boy, a thing like that might make even a powerful 强大 missile look like a toy 玩具!"

Even if the brain energy 能源 proved too small to be harnessed 马具 for destructive 破坏性的 purposes, Tom went on, it might turn out to possess 拥有 super‧intelligence 超‧智商，能力. Gifted with all the scientific know-how of the space people, it might be made to reveal 揭示 those secrets to the Brungarians.

"They might learn from it how to construct 构造 weapons or space craft 手艺 powerful 强大 enough to conquer 征服 the free world!" Tom ended.

His listeners 倾听者 were grim 严峻-faced at the thought.

"I'd say that's a far worse danger than any chance of their coming up with a robot 机器人 monster 怪物," Ames said.

"Ditto!" Hanson agreed.

"I think so too," Tom replied. "In any case, it's up to us to make sure the Brungarians don't switch 开关 that energy 能源 off course before it lands here."

"Think their scientists are cap‧able 能 of such a stunt 特技?" George Dilling inquired.

Tom shrugged 耸. "They're certainly far advanced in the fields of rocket 火箭 guidance 指导 and telemetry. But actually we just don't know."

Hank Sterling glanced 一瞥 hopefully 希望 at the young inventor. "Got any ideas, skipper 船长?" he asked.

Tom drummed 鼓 a pencil 铅笔 on the table thoughtfully 沉思地 before replying. "Maybe our best bet is first to find out all we can about the lines of research on which they're concentrating 集中. That might be the tip 尖；窍门-off."

After a thorough discussion, it was decided that Ames and Dilling would fly to Washington at once and talk to the FBI and Central 中央 Intelligence 情报. Their job would be to garner 谷仓 and piece together every scrap 废料 of information on Brungarian scientists' accomplishments 成就.

"Let us know as soon as you get a general picture," Tom said.

Ames and Dilling promised to do so, and the meeting broke up.

Feeling some‧what 有些 reassured 再保证 now that a definite 定 plan of action had been decided upon, Tom resumed 恢复 work on his sketches 草图. Although both the problem and the solution were still hazy in his mind, a few ideas began to take shape.

A radio antenna 天线 would certainly be needed, to receive or transmit 发送 signals at a distance. And repelatron units would give the brain a way to exert 发挥 force when it wanted to act. These were devices 设备 which Tom had invented 发明 to produce a repulsion-force ray 光束. He had used the principle 原理 in both air and space flight 飞行.

A power plant might also be needed to gene‧rate 生成 additional 额外 energy 能源 in case the brain's own energy 能源 was very small. Lastly, there would have to be a control system for use either by the brain itself 本身 or by its human operators.

After an hour of work at top speed, Tom was rather pleased with one rough sketch 草图. He was mulling over the idea when Chow Winkler and Bud Barclay wandered 漫步 into the office. Both were impressed when Tom explained the sketch 草图.

Chow stared at it, goggle 护目镜-eyed at the thought of such a contraption "coming to life." "So that's the Ole Think Box, eh?" he muttered 咕哝.

Tom laughed. "Good name, Chow!"

All three were startled 惊吓 as a voice suddenly broke in over the wall intercom. It was the operator on duty at the plant's communication 通讯 center.

"Turn on your TV, skipper 船长," the operator suggested. "We've just had a news bulletin 公告 that an earthquake 地震 tremor 震 has been felt over in Medfield. There's a big plant there that makes rocket 火箭 nose cones 锥体. A mobile 移动 TV crew 全体工作人员；全体船员's been rushed to the scene in a helicopter 直升机 and they're trying to pick up the action with a television 电视 camera 照相机."

"Good night! Another quake?" Bud gasped 喘气.

Tom had already rushed to the video‧phone 影片‧电话. Flicking it on, he switched 开关 to a commercial channel 渠道. Soon a picture appeared on the screen. It was a panoramic shot shoot of a landscape 景观, evidently 明显地 viewed from a hovering 徘徊 air‧craft 飞机, with a large industrial 产业 plant just below.

A TV commentator 评论员's voice was reporting developments. "Few visible 可以看见的；可视的 signs of a tremor 震," he said. "As you can see, the rocket 火箭-plant personnel 人员 and the people of Medfield are making desperate 殊死 attempts to evacuate 撤离. Fortunately, most of them have already left the immediate area."

A few cars and trucks could still be seen speeding along the ribbon‧like 带‧喜欢；象 roads within view of the hovering 徘徊 television 电视 camera 照相机.

"Oh—oh!" The commentator 评论员's voice broke in again. "Notice that tall stack 堆 just over the plant—see how it's starting to tremble 发抖!... It's beginning to crumble 崩溃!... This must be it!"

Suddenly the whole scene seemed to explode 爆. Plant buildings collapsed 坍方 like toy 玩具 houses built of cards, while at the same time huge 巨大 rocks and trees were uprooted as a yawning 打哈欠 crack 破裂 opened in the ground below.

The three watchers 守望者 in Tom's office stared in horrified 惊吓 dismay 沮丧. But a moment later the picture on the TV screen became jerky and distorted 歪曲, then faded 褪去 out completely.

After a brief 简要 interval 间隔, a studio 工作室 announcer 宣布 came on. "The relay 中继 transmitter 发射机 must have been knocked out by the quake. We return you now to our regularly 经常 scheduled 时间表 program, but will keep you informed as bulletins 公告 come in."

"Great balls o' fire!" Chow gulped 吞 as Tom turned off the set. "I sure hope all o' those poor folks 民间 in cars got away safe!"

Tom rushed to a wall shelf 架子 and pulled out a book on geology 地质学. He leafed 叶子 quickly to a section 部分 dealing with known earthquake 地震 faults 缺点 and the distribution of quakes. When he looked up at the others, his face was grim 严峻.

"What's wrong, skipper 船长?" Bud asked tensely 紧张.

"That quake," Tom replied, "wasn't in a patterned zone 区 any more than the Faber one was!"

Chow's jaw 下巴 dropped open in a comic 滑稽 look of dismay 沮丧. "You mean this here ole earth we live on is gettin' all busted 胸围 up an' twisted around inside?"

"I wish I knew, Chow!" Tom paced 步伐，速度 worriedly about the office. "It just seems queer 奇怪 to me that both of those quakes should have destroyed vital 重要的 defense factories 工厂!"

On a sudden impulse 冲动, Tom snatched 抢夺 up the telephone. His two companions 同伴 listened as he put through a call to the FBI in Washington. Within moments, a friend at the Bureau, Wes Norris, came on the line.

"Look, Wes," Tom said, "is there any chance this quake that just happened at Medfield and the earlier one at Faber Electronics might have been caused by under‧ground 地下 H-bomb 炸弹 blasts 爆破?"

"As a matter of fact, we're checking on that very possibility 可能性," Norris replied. "In other words, sabotage 破坏. Things are pretty hot around here since that news on Medfield came in, so I can't talk much right now, Tom. But I can tell you this," Wes concluded 得出结论, "we are investigating 调查, and I do mean thoroughly!"

Bud and Chow were shocked when Tom reported his conversation with the FBI agent.

"Brand 牌 my rattle‧snake 霸王鞭‧蛇 stew 炖!" Chow exploded 爆. "Any ornery varmint that'd cause an earthquake 地震 ought to be strung up like a hoss thief 小偷!"

"I agree, Chow," Tom said. "But how do we find out for sure?"

After closing time at the plant, Bud drove home with Tom. Both Mrs. Swift and Sandy were upset 打翻 as the boys discussed the situation.

"Tom, if this was deliberate 商榷," Mrs. Swift pointed out, "Enterprises may be next on the enemy's list!"

Tom did his best to allay his mother's fears, but inwardly 向内的 he himself felt apprehensive. Any large-scale sabotage 破坏 plot 情节 would be almost certain to include Swift Enterprises, America's most daring and advanced research center.

When his mother went upstairs 楼上 to her room, Tom suggested to Bud that they drive to the nearby 附近 State Police post. Here he confided 信任 his fears to Captain Rock, an old friend of the Swifts.

"You have some request in mind?" Captain Rock inquired.

"How about making a search for any signs of suspicious 可疑的 digging 挖 or under‧ground 地下 activity in the vicinity 附近 of Shopton?" Tom said. "There would have to be an excavation 挖掘 of some sort in order to set off an under‧ground 地下 blast 爆破."

Captain Rock mulled over Tom's suggestion 建议. "Sounds like a big job, but I'm afraid you're right, Tom. We can't risk a similar 类似 disaster 灾难，大祸 here."

"We'd better move fast, too," Bud put in. "Those two quakes so far came only a day apart 相隔!"

Rock picked up the telephone and barked 吠 out orders. Within half an hour, several carloads of troopers 士兵 were covering the outlying roads that converged 汇集 on Shopton. Firemen and Chief Slater's town police force were also pressed into action. They would search every cellar 地窖 in town for signs of recent digging.

Bud rode ride in one police car and Tom in another as a house-to-house search was conducted 进行 along the high‧way 公路 that ran past Enterprises.

At one weather-beaten beat house, where Bud stopped with a state trooper 士兵, an old man came to the door.

"What you fellers prowlin' around for?" he asked.

"Bomb 炸弹 emergency 急," the trooper 士兵 said laconically. "We have orders to search every house cellar 地窖 for under‧ground 地下 openings."

Grumbling, the old man let them enter. He followed them down a rickety stair‧way 楼梯‧路；方法. A moment later Bud stumbled 绊倒 and gave a yell 叫喊. The trooper 士兵 swung around just in time to see Bud drop from view!

CHAPTER V

SECRET CACHE

As the trooper 士兵's flash‧light 使闪光‧光；灯 stabbed 刺 through the cellar 地窖 gloom 愁云 at the spot where Bud had disappeared 不见, there came a loud 响亮的 splash 溅! The light showed a round hole in the floor, rimmed 轮缘 by a low circle of brick‧work 砖‧工作.

"What's that hole?" the trooper 士兵 snapped 卡 at the owner.

"What does it look like?" the elderly 年老的；上了年纪的 man snapped 卡 back. "It's an old well."

"A well!" the trooper 士兵 exclaimed 喊叫 as he rushed to the spot. "And not even covered? What're you trying to do—kill people?"

The old man sniffed 吸气. "Used to be covered, but the lid 盖子's gone. Didn't expect to have a bunch 束 of nosy fellers pokin' around down here!"

The state trooper 士兵 muttered 咕哝 angrily under his breath as he shone 发光:shine his flash‧light 使闪光‧光；灯 into the well-shaft 轴. Bud was splashing 溅 around below, soaked 浸泡 and chagrined by his accident 意外事件.

"Give me a hand!" he called up.

The trooper 士兵 reached down, but was barely 光秃秃的 able to touch Bud's finger tips 尖；窍门. To make matters worse, the sides of the well were slippery 滑；狡猾的 with moss 苔藓.

"Get a rope 粗绳," the trooper 士兵 ordered the old man.

"Ain't got one."

The police‧man 警察 reddened and stood up to his full six-foot-two. "Look, mister 薄雾—what's your name?"

The elderly man shrank back, as if suspecting 怀疑；嫌疑犯 that the trooper 士兵's patience 耐心 might have been tried too far. "Ben Smith," he mumbled 咕哝.

"Okay 好的, Mr. Smith, you get a rope 粗绳 or something else to pull this boy out. And fast!"

Ben Smith gulped 吞 on his chewing 嚼 tobacco 烟草 and hurried off. A minute or so later he returned with a length of clothes‧line 衣服，衣物‧线条；做衬里. The trooper 士兵 lowered it into the well and Bud was soon climbing out, looking like a drenched rat 鼠.

"Sorry, son," Smith said apologetically. "Guess I should have warned ye."

Bud chuckled 暗笑 good-naturedly. "It's all right," he said. "It was my own fault 缺点 for not watching where I was going. Besides, you can't blame 指责 an American for not liking the idea of having his home searched."

The old man chuckled 暗笑 too and flashed a wary 警惕 eye at the trooper 士兵. "I'll go get ye a towel 毛巾 to dry off with," he told Bud.

Meanwhile 同时, Tom was investigating 调查 a house down the road with another state trooper 士兵. The owner, a paunchy unshaven bachelor 单身汉 named Pete Latty, and his seven‧teen 十七-year-old nephew 侄子 accompanied 陪 them to the basement 地下室.

A naked 裸 light bulb 灯泡, hanging from the ceiling 天花板, revealed 揭示 an ancient furnace 炉, and an accumulation 积累 of junk 破烂. Most of it was covered with dust, but Tom noticed a large packing crate 箱 that looked as if it had been freshly moved. He walked over and began to shove 推 the heavy box aside.

"What're you doing?" Latty asked gruffly.

"I want to look underneath 在...之下," Tom replied. A second later his eyes widened 放宽 as he saw a trap 陷阱；诱骗 door, evidently 明显地 leading to a subcellar.

Tom beckoned 招手 his partner 伙伴 over and showed his discovery 发现. "Where does this lead to?" the trooper 士兵 asked, turning back to Latty.

"Just a little storage 存储 place," the owner replied with a shrug 耸. "I didn't think it was worth mentioning. You'd better not go down there," he added hastily 草草. "The steps ain't safe."

"Just the same, we'll take a look," the trooper 士兵 said.

"Then do it at your own risk!" Latty snapped 卡.

The officer pulled up the trap 陷阱；诱骗 door and Tom shone 发光:shine a light down. The shallow 浅的 dirt-walled room below was about six feet square. On the floor, at the foot of a short rickety ladder 梯子, lay lie a large bundle 捆 wrapped 包 in a tarpaulin.

Tom descended 下来 the ladder cautiously and opened the tarpaulin to see what was inside. The contents made him gasp 喘气—a large, well-oiled collection of rifles 步枪 and pistols 手枪!

Looking up, Tom saw both the state trooper 士兵 and Latty peering 窥视 down at him—the trooper 士兵 openmouthed with surprise, Latty scowling nervously 担心的.

"Don't touch 'em!" Latty warned. "Some are loaded. I keep 'em hidden hide for safety 安全, but sometimes my nephew 侄子 Fred here and I have target 目标 practice."

Just then Tom's keen 热切的 eyes spotted a slip of paper tucked 掖 among the guns. He pulled it out. His heart gave a leap 飞跃 of excitement 激动 as he saw two words written on the paper—Samson Narko!

Hiding his amazement 惊愕, Tom read the name aloud 高声 and added casually 胡乱；漫不经心, "What's this? The make of one of the guns?"

"Uh, yeah 是啊—that's right," the man replied.

Without comment 评论, Tom climbed out of the subcellar. As he bent bend down to drop the trap door, Tom flashed the officer a signal. Instantly the trooper 士兵 grabbed 用手抓 Latty.

"Hey! Why the rough stuff 塞满；材料?" the prisoner 犯人，囚犯 exclaimed 喊叫. Then, as he realized the officer was about to hand‧cuff 杻 him, the man's face turned pasty white. He pulled free from the trooper 士兵's grasp 把握 and bolted 螺栓 toward the stair‧way 楼梯‧路；方法. His nephew 侄子 stood as if paralyzed 瘫痪 at the sudden turn of events.

Latty's attempt at flight 飞行 was hope‧less 绝望. Tom quickly brought him down with a flying tackle 滑车.

Later, after Latty had been manacled, Tom helped him up. "In case you don't know it," the young inventory 库存 said coldly, "your friend Narko is in jail 监狱, so you may as well talk. What's the pitch 沥青?"

Latty was trembling 发抖 and still pale. "I—I d-didn't know there'd be any trouble with the cops 警察 or I'd never have done it," he quavered. "Narko offered me some dough 面团 to hide the guns. I needed money, so I took him up. That's all there was to it."

"How long have you known this Narko?" Tom asked.

"I met him a few days ago in a restaurant 饭店. Believe me, I'd never laid eyes on him before. And I wish I never had!" Latty added bitterly.

The man's story had a ring of truth. "All right, Officer, let's take him in," Tom said. To the still-astounded 惊奇 Fred, he added, "We're sorry about this."

Two hours later Tom and Bud sat in Chief Slater's office at Shopton police head‧quarter 总部. Captain Rock and the Shopton fire chief were also on hand.

"We've had troopers 士兵, detectives 侦探, and fire inspectors 检查员 swarming 一群 all over Latty's place," Captain Rock reported. "They examined his house, the garage 车库, two sheds 棚 out back, and every inch of the grounds. But there's no indication 迹象 of any place where a bomb 炸弹 might have been planted to cause an under‧ground 地下 explosion 爆炸 in Shopton."

The fire chief nodded 点头 confirmation 确认. "So that clue 线索 peters 彼得 out," he said.

With the waning 没落 of day‧light 日光, the other groups had finally abandoned 放弃 their search of the Shopton area without turning up any information. "I'll notify 通知 the FBI immediately," Chief Slater said.

Nevertheless 虽然, he promised that his men would continue their efforts the next day.

"Even if we find nothing more, that arms cache 高速缓存 was worth all the trouble," Slater added. "The country owes 欠…债 you a vote of thanks, Tom. A bunch 束 of enemy agents could have hurt 损害 a lot of people with an arsenal 兵工厂 like that!"

"That's for sure," Captain Rock agreed. "It was a good day's haul 运输, Tom."

The two boys drove back to the Swift home and had a quick shower 阵雨. Bud borrowed 借 clean clothes from Tom. Then they sat down to enjoy a warmed-up but tasty 可口 supper 晚饭, served by Sandy and Mrs. Swift.

As they ate, the boys listened to music on the radio, interspersed 点缀 with eager 渴望的 questions from Sandy about the bomb 炸弹 search.

Suddenly the radio announcer 宣布 broke in. "We interrupt 打断 this broad‧cast 广播 to bring you an important news bulletin 公告!"

CHAPTER VI

BRUNGARIAN COUP

Tom, Sandy, and Bud listened as the radio announcer 宣布 continued:

"Reports just in say that Brungaria has been taken over by a rebel 反叛 group. Military 军事 aid 援助 to support the rebel 反叛 coup 政变 is pouring 淋；倒 in from Maurevia, Brungaria's powerful 强大 province 省 in the north. The Brungarian prime 主要 minister, his cabinet 内阁, and all loyal 忠诚的 administrative 行政的 personnel 人员 have fled or been arrested.

"Worried United States State Department officials admit that the surprise coup 政变 poses 以…身份出现，造成 a new and dangerous 危险 threat 威胁 to free-world security 安全. Further news reports will be broad‧cast 广播 as soon as they reach this station," the announcer 宣布 ended.

For a moment Tom and Bud were too stunned 击晕 to speak. Sandy was wide-eyed with the realization 实现 that the news spelled 拼写:spell trouble for Swift Enterprises and all America.

"Looks as though that CIA man who briefed 简要 us wasn't kidding 孩子, eh, skipper 船长?" Bud muttered 咕哝 at last.

"It came sooner than he expected!" Tom said.

Jumping up from the table, Tom switched 开关 off the radio and hurried to the hall telephone. In a few moments he managed to get a long-distance call through to Wes Norris of the FBI.

"Is the news on this Brungarian coup 政变 as bad as it sounds, Wes?" Tom inquired.

"Worse! That rebel 反叛 bunch 束 really has it in for us, as you know, Tom," Norris replied. "They envy 嫉妒 America and they'll move heaven 天 and earth to steal our scientific secrets. This could touch off a whole epidemic 疫情 of sabotage 破坏 and other spy 间谍 activity!"

Tom's jaw 下巴 clenched 咬紧 grimly 严峻. He then asked the FBI man his opinion about the discovery 发现 of the secret arms cache 高速缓存 in Pete Latty's basement 地下室.

Norris admitted he was puzzled. "It doesn't add up, Tom," the FBI agent said thoughtfully 沉思地. "If our enemies were planning to destroy Shopton by a quake, why would anyone be needing a gun?"

"I can't figure it myself 我, Wes—unless they were planning to raid 袭击 and loot 抢劫 Enterprises after the place was thrown throw into disorder 混乱," Tom deduced 推断. "What about Narko himself? Has he talked yet?"

Norris replied that although he had not interviewed 访问 Narko himself, FBI agents who had grilled 烤架 the spy 间谍 had failed to elicit 引出 any information.

"Here's something else, though, which might interest you," Norris went on. "We now have reports that at the time of the Harkness and Medfield disasters 灾难，大祸, seismographs recorded simultaneous 同时 quakes off the coast of Alaska near the Aleutian chain. Tremors were also felt off the south‧west 西南 coast of South America."

A new factor 因子 to consider! Tom frowned 皱眉 in puzzlement as he hung up the telephone after completing his talk with the FBI man.

After Tom had repeated the conversation to his companions 同伴, Bud said, "You mean the H-bomb 炸弹 idea goes out the window?"

Tom shrugged 耸. "Wes says they've found no evidence 证据 to support the theory 理论 of man-produced under‧ground 地下 blasts 爆破. It just doesn't jibe with those other remote 远程 tremors 震. They'd be too much of a coincidence 巧合, happening at the same time!"

"Then the quakes at Harkness and Medfield were real earthquakes 地震!" Sandy put in.

"Looks that way," Tom admitted. "Those other tremors 震 Wes mentioned follow a natural 自然 circum-Pacific belt 腰带 which is well known to seismologists. I'm no expert 专家, but perhaps they could have set off chain reactions 反应 below the earth's crust 脆皮 which triggered 触发 the two quakes in this part of the country."

In that case, the young inventor reflected, it was only a freak 怪物 of nature that the Faber and nose-cone 锥体 factories had been wrecked 破坏；使遇难 by the shock. But in spite 恶意 of the seismographic clues 线索, Tom was not entirely convinced 说服. A nagging 唠叨 doubt still buzzed 蜂鸣器 in the back of his mind.

The next morning Tom hurried off to his private glass-walled laboratory 实验室 at Enterprises, eager 渴望的 to continue work on his container, or robot 机器人 body, for the brain from space.

Tom frowned 皱眉 as he studied the rough sketch 草图 he had drawn draw in his office the afternoon before. "This setup 建立's full of bugs 虫；窃听器!" he muttered 咕哝.

Nevertheless 虽然, Tom decided, the basic idea was sound. Grabbing pencil 铅笔 and slide rule, he began to dash 短跑 off page after page of diagrams 图 and equations 方程.

"Chow down!" boomed 繁荣 a foghorn voice. Chow Winkler, wearing a white chef 厨师's hat, wheeled a lunch 午餐 cart 运货马车 into the lab 实验室.

"Oh... thanks." Tom scarcely 缺乏的 looked up from his work as the cook set out an appetizing meal 餐 of Texas hash, milk 奶, and deep-dish 盘 apple 苹果 pie 馅饼 on the bench 长凳 beside the young inventor's papers. Grumbling under his breath, Chow sauntered out.

Tom went on working intently 意图 between mouthfuls. In another hour he finished a set of pilot 飞行员 drawings. Then he called Hank Sterling and Arvid Hanson and asked them to come to the laboratory 实验室.

They listened with keen 热切的 interest as Tom explained his latest creation 创建.

"No telling if it will work when the energy 能源 arrives from space," Tom said, "but I think everything tracks 小路 okay 好的. Hank, get these plans blue‧print 蓝图 and assign 分配 an electronics 电子 group to the project 项目. You'd better handle the hard‧ware 硬件 your‧self 你自己."

"Right." Hank rolled up the sketches 草图.

"And, Arv," Tom went on, "I'd like a scale model made to guide them on assembly 部件. How soon can you have it?"

Hanson promised the model for some time the next day, and the two men hurried off.

As usual, Arv proved slightly better than his word. The expert 专家 model‧maker 模型‧制作者 was devoted 奉献 to his craft 手艺 and as apt 易于 to forget the clock 钟 as Tom himself, when absorbed 吸收 in a new project 项目. By working on in his shop long after closing hours, Hanson had a desk-size model of the space-brain robot 机器人 ready for Tom's inspection 检查 when the young inventor arrived at the plant early the following morning.

"Wonderful 精彩, Arv!" Tom approved. "Every time I see one of your models of a new invention 发明, I'm sure it'll work!" Hanson grinned 微笑, pleased at the compliment 赞扬.

Tom hopped 跳 into a jeep 吉普车 and sped across the plant grounds to deliver the model to Hank Sterling and his project 项目 crew 全体工作人员；全体船员. Work was already well along on the electronic 电子 subassemblies and the strange-looking "body" was taking shape.

That afternoon Ames and Dilling returned from Washington. The report they gave to Tom bore out his hunch 直觉 that the rebel 反叛 Brungarian scientists might well be able to divert 转移 the space energy 能源.

The next day was Friday. Tom was hoping, although none too optimistically 乐观, that the container might be completed before the week end. To his delight, an Enterprises pickup 捡起 truck pulled up outside the laboratory 实验室 later that afternoon and Hank rolled the queer 奇怪-looking device 设备 inside.

"Hi 嗨, buster 胸围!" Tom greeted 欢迎 it. "Is this your daddy?"

Hank chuckled 暗笑. "Don't look at me. It claims you're its daddy. But hanged if I can see much resemblance 相似!"

"Think it'll live?"

"If not," Hank replied, only half jokingly, "the boys who worked on it will sure be disappointed 使失望. No kidding 孩子, skipper 船长, that's quite a gadget 小工具 you dreamed dream up!"

The device 设备 stood about shoulder-high, with a star-shaped head, one point of which could be opened. The head would contain the actual brain energy 能源. Its upper body, cylindrical in shape and of gleaming 闪光 chrome, housed the output 产量 units through which the brain would react 反应；作出回应；有不良反应；产生反应, and also the controls. Antennas projecting 项目 out on either side gave the look of arms.

Its " waist 腰" was girdled with a ring of repelatron radiators 散热器 for exerting 发挥 a repulsion force when it wanted to move, by repelling 击退 itself 本身 away from nearby 附近 objects.

Below the repelatrons was an hour‧glass 小时‧玻璃-shaped power unit, housing a solar 太阳能-charged battery 电池.

The power unit, in turn, was mounted on a pan‧cake 饼子-shaped transportation unit. This unit was equipped 装备 with both casters and a sort of caterpillar 毛虫-crawler 爬行 arrangement 安排 for the contrivance to get about over obstacles 障碍. Inside was a gyro-stabilizer 稳定 to keep the whole device 设备 upright 直立的.

Tom felt a glow 辉光 of pride 自尊—and eager impatience 不耐烦—as he inspected 检查 the device 设备. If it worked as he hoped, this odd 奇 creature 动物；生物 might one day provide earth scientists with a price‧less 无价 store of information about intelligent 智能 life on Planet X!

Bud and Chow, entering the laboratory 实验室 soon after Hank Sterling had left, found Tom still engrossed in his thoughts.

"Wow! Is this your space‧man 空间‧男人?" Bud inquired.

Tom nodded 点头, then grinned 微笑 at his callers 呼叫者' gaping 盱；目瞪口呆 expressions. Each was trying to imagine how the "thing" would look in action.

"Sure is a queer 奇怪-lookin' buckaroo!" Chow commented 评论, when Tom finished explaining how it was supposed to work.

On a sudden impulse 冲动, the old cow‧poke 奶牛‧戳 took off his ten 十-gallon 加仑 hat and plumped 丰满 it on the creature 动物；生物. Then he removed 去掉 his polka-dotted 点 red bandanna and knotted 结 it like a neckerchief just below the star head.

Tom laughed heartily 爽朗 as Bud howled 嗥, "Ride 'em, space‧man 空间‧男人!"

Tom was eager to notify 通知 his mysterious 神秘 space friends that the container was now ready to receive the brain energy 能源. Bud went with him by jeep 吉普车 to the space-communications 通讯 laboratory 实验室. Chow, however, stayed behind and stared in fascination 魅力 at the odd 奇-looking robot 机器人 creature 动物；生物.

The stout 肥硕 cook walked back and forth, eying the thing suspiciously 可疑的 from every angle. "Wonder what the critter eats?" he muttered 咕哝.

Feeling in his shirt 衬衫 pocket, Chow brought out a wad of his favorite 喜爱的 bubble 泡沫 gum 胶. Should he or shouldn't he? "Shucks, won't hurt 损害 to try," the old Texan decided.

Chow unlocked 开锁 the hinged 合页 point of the star head and popped 流行的 the gum 胶 inside. He was some‧what 有些 disappointed when nothing happened. Feeling a trifle 琐事 foolish 傻, Chow finally removed 去掉 his hat and bandanna from the creature 3 and stumped 树墩 off.

Meanwhile 同时, in the space-communications 通讯 laboratory 实验室, Tom was pounding out a message on the key‧board 键盘 of the electronic 电子 brain. Tom had invented this device 设备 for automatically 自动 coding 码 and decoding 解码 messages between the Swifts and their space friends. It was connected 连接 to a powerful 强大 transmitting 发送-and-receiving apparatus 仪器, served by a huge 巨大 radio-telescope 望远镜 antenna 天线 mounted atop 在顶上 the communications 通讯 building.

Bud looked on as Tom signaled:

TOM SWIFT TO SPACE FRIENDS. CONTAINER FOR ENERGY IS NOW READY. SHOULD IT BE PLACED OUTDOORS?

Stirred by a worrisome afterthought, Tom added:

MESSAGES MAY BE INTERCEPTED BY ENEMY WHO WISHES TO STEAL ENERGY. SUGGEST YOU USE FLIGHT PATH TO LAND EXACTLY TWO MILES WEST OF FIRST CONTACT WITH US.

"By 'first contact 联系,' you mean when that black missile landed at Enterprises?" Bud asked.

Tom nodded 点头. At that time, he reminded Bud, the Brungarians and their conquerors had not yet learned of the Swifts' communication 通讯 from another planet. Hence 因此 they would have no idea of the site referred to—which would hamper 阻碍 any plans to kidnap 绑架 the brain energy 能源.

"I get it," Bud said. "Smart 聪明 idea, pal 朋友!"

Tensely the two boys waited for a reply from outer space.

CHAPTER VII

WALL OF WATER!

Minutes went by before the signal bell 钟 rang on the electronic 电子 brain. Both Tom and Bud dashed 短跑 over to the machine as it began to spell 拼写 out the incoming 来 message on tape 胶带:

ENERGY WILL COME TO THE SPOT YOU SUGGESTED. WE CAN CONTROL FLIGHT COURSE BUT WHILE THE ENERGY IS ON EARTH YOU WILL BE IN CHARGE. WE WILL HAVE NO CONTROL FOR TWENTY-ONE DAYS. THEN WE WILL RECALL ENERGY TO BRING US IMPRESSIONS AND DATA OF YOUR WORLD.

The two boys stared at each other excitedly as the trans‧mission 传输 ended.

"Wow!" Bud murmured 私语. "If Planet X is a peaceful 平静的 place, Ole Think Box is sure in for a jolt 颠簸 here on earth!"

Tom grinned 微笑 fleetingly at the reference to Chow's nick‧name 昵称 for the robot 机器人 creature. Then he became serious, knowing that Bud's words were all too true. The space visitor might also take back impressions 印象 of the suffering and war‧like 战争‧喜欢；象 threats that some earth countries inflict 造成 on one another. Maybe one day, Tom reflected, it would be different.

In the mean‧time 其时, the young inventor realized he had an awe‧some 真棒 responsibility 责任. He must not only make the best use of the brain energy 能源 during its stay on earth, but also keep it from falling into the hands of treacherous 奸诈 Brungarian plotters.

Tom's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of girls' voices. Sandy and Phyl were standing in the door‧way 门口 of the space-communications 通讯 laboratory 实验室.

"Talk about deep thinkers 思想家!" Sandy said teasingly.

"Goodness, we had no idea we'd be interrupting 打断 a session 会议 of the brain trust," Phyl added with a mischievous sparkle 火花 in her brown eyes. "Maybe we should go away again, Sandy!"

"Hey! Hold it, you two!" Bud exclaimed 喊叫. "What do you think, Tom—are these the visitors 访问者 we've been expecting from outer space?"

"Well! I like that!" Sandy pouted. "Do we look like a couple of little green people?"

Tom chuckled 暗笑 and seized the opportunity to do a little teasing 逗 of his own. "I think it's just your pointed heads that fooled us, Sis." Then, as the two girls broke down in laughter 笑, he added, "Why the unexpected 意外 visit?"

Sandy and Phyl explained that they had come to invite the boys to a picnic 野餐 cruise 巡航 on Lake Carlopa the next day.

"And while we're here, since it's practically quitting 放弃 time anyhow 总之," Sandy went on, her blue eyes twinkling 眨眼, "we might even let you drive us some place for dinner."

"Guess they've trapped us, Bud," Tom said with a grin 微笑. "Okay 好的, it's a deal. But first we have something to show you." He took the girls to his laboratory 实验室 to show them the robot 机器人 creature.

"It's marvelous 奇妙!" Sandy exclaimed 喊叫, and Phyl agreed.

Early the next morning Bud called for Tom and Sandy in his tomato 番茄-red convertible 可兑换. Then they stopped at the Newtons' house to pick up Phyl. Each girl had packed a picnic 野餐 basket 篮 for the day's sail 航行；帆.

"Hmm. Looks as though we're going to be well fed feed," Bud commented 评论 jokingly. "What's on the menu 菜单, girls?"

" Chicken 鸡 and ham 火腿 sandwiches 三明治..." Sandy began.

"Pickles, olives 橄榄, hard-boiled 煮沸 eggs, potato 土豆 salad 沙拉..." Phyl went on.

"Chocolate cake 蛋糕, milk..." Sandy took up the list.

"Stop! You have us hungry 饥饿 as bears already!" Tom warned.

"Right!" Bud agreed. "Come on! Let's get this cruise 巡航 under way!"

The two couples drove to the Shopton Yacht Club dock 码头 on Lake Carlopa. There they boarded the Sunspot, a beautiful 美丽 thirty 三十-foot sailing 航行；帆 ketch with auxiliary 辅 engine which Mr. Swift and Mr. Newton had purchased 采购 for a frequently promised but not yet realized joint 共同的 family vacation 假期.

The craft 手艺 was equipped 装备 with twin 双胞胎之一 gravitex stabilizers, mounted one on each side of the hull 船壳. These gave it amazing 使大为惊奇，使惊愕 smoothness even when plowing 犁 through rough seas. They were adaptations 适应 of a device 设备 Tom had invented for his space kite 风筝 and Cosmic Sailer.

"Oh, what a gorgeous 华丽 day for a sail 航行；帆!" Phyl said, aglow with enthusiasm 热情.

The sky was a cloud‧less 云‧少 blue. Under a hot summer sun, a brisk 轻快 breeze 微风 was ruffling 生气 the lake into tiny 小 whitecaps. The two couples cast 投 off eagerly 渴望的 and were soon scudding out across the water under full sail.

Tom and Bud wore wear swimming 游泳 trunks 树干 under their slacks 松弛. Unfortunately 不幸 the girls had forgotten forget to bring their suits. When the Sunspot reached the center of the lake, the boys hove to, stripped down to their trunks, and dived 潜水 over‧board 落水. Meanwhile 3, the girls sun-bathed 沐浴 on deck 甲板. Soon it was time for the picnic 野餐 lunch 午餐, and all four ate with healthy 健康 young appetites 食欲.

"Jeepers!" Sandy whispered 低声说 to Phyl with a giggle 傻笑. "After a feast 盛会 like this, we'll have to go on a diet 饮食!"

"Don't say it," Phyl warned, "or Tom and Bud will use that as an excuse 原谅 for never taking us out ag—"

She broke off with a gasp 喘气.

"What's wrong?" Tom asked.

Breathless with fright 恐怖, Phyl pointed off to star‧board 星‧板，上船. The others paled. An enormous 巨大 wave was sweeping across the lake, straight toward the ketch!

"Jumpin' jets 喷射!" Bud gulped 吞. "It's like a tidal 潮汐 wave!"

The boat was already rocking under the swells 膨胀；增强 that preceded 优于 the oncoming huge 巨大 breaker.

"Quick!" Tom yelled 叫喊. " Grab 用手抓 life jackets 衣服 while I start the engine!"

The four leaped 飞跃 into action. Every instant the terrifying 惊吓 wave rushed closer! By now it was a twelve 十二-foot wall of water!

Tom and the others had just put on the jackets and the engine had barely gunned into life when disaster 4 struck. The mammoth 长毛象 wave swept sweep up the Sunspot and heeled 脚跟 it far over into the trough 槽 like a toy 玩具 bark 吠. The next instant a cataract of water poured 淋；倒 over the deck 甲板 with stunning 击晕 force!

"We're going under!" Phyl screamed 叫喊.

All four were swept over‧board 落水 in the maelstrom! Under the smashing 粉碎 impact 碰撞 of the water, the ketch's main‧mast 主要的‧桅杆 bent and groaned 呻吟. A moment later came a crack 破裂 like a gun‧shot 枪‧射击. The mast 桅杆 broke off, hung teetering by shreds 撕碎, then toppled 倾覆 into the water. As it fell, the mast 桅杆 struck Sandy a grazing 轻擦 blow on the head!

"Sandy!" Bud cried fearfully 可怕 as he struggled in the swirling 漩涡 torrent 激流.

Calling on every ounce 盎司 of strength, he swam 游泳:swim with powerful 强大 strokes 一击;轻抚 toward the girl. Sandy was dazed 迷乱 and limp 跛行. Bud's husky arm circled her tightly. Then he began to fight his way toward shore. Tom and Phyl—each struggling in the turbulent 汹涌 water—could only breathe 呼吸 a prayer of thanks as they watched the rescue 营救.

As the huge 巨大 wave raced shore‧ward 岸‧病房, the lake water gradually 逐步地 became calmer 镇定的 in its wake 醒. Tom was able to assist 帮助；协助；援助 Phyl, and Sandy by now had recovered 恢复 her faculties 学院.

The Sunspot had capsized but could still be seen afloat, some distance away. Rather than swim 游泳 to it and cling to the hulk in the hope that a rescue 3 boat would arrive, the four decided to continue on toward shore. They knew that the aftermath 后果 of the tidal 潮汐 wave would keep all shore facilities 设施 in an uproar for hours to come.

As they neared the beach 海滩, the young people could see other over‧turn 颠覆 craft 手艺 and heads bobbing 短发 in the water. A few daring persons finally began putting out in motorboats and rowboats to pick up the survivors 幸存者.

A hundred 百 yards from shore, one of the boats took Tom's group aboard 船上. Minutes later, they were scrambling 争夺 out onto a dock 码头.

"Are you all right, Sandy?" Bud asked, his arm still around her.

"I—I think so," she gasped 喘气 weakly, "but I must have swallowed half the lake!"

"Take it easy, Sis!" Tom added, as Sandy swayed 摇摆 and shuddered 不寒而栗 from the shock of her recent ordeal 考验.

Gently he made Sandy lie down and pillowed 枕头 her head on a folded 折叠 tarpaulin provided by the sympathetic 同情的 boat‧man 小船‧男人. Phyl, though wan 苍白 and white-faced, was in some‧what 有些 better shape.

"Tom, we must get these girls home as soon as possible," Bud declared.

This, however, was not easily accomplished 完成；实现；达到；做到. The tidal 潮汐 wave had caused devastation 毁坏 along the entire shore front. Many docks 码头 had been wrecked, boats splintered 碎片 like matchsticks, and buildings along the water smashed 粉碎.

When Tom's group reached Bud's convertible 可兑换, parked near the yacht 游艇 club pier 码头, they found the car completely waterlogged. Its electrical 电动 system gave not even a faint 微弱的 sputter or spark 火花.

"Oh, fine!" Bud groaned 呻吟. "The crowning 王冠 touch!"

Eventually 终于 ambulances 救护车 and private cars began to arrive to transport 运输 the injured 损伤. Tom, Bud, and the two girls were given a lift to the Swift home where Sandy and Phyl were immediately put to bed by a worried Mrs. Swift.

Downstairs, Tom switched 开关 on the TV set. A mobile 移动 camera crew 3 from the local station was scanning 扫描 the water front and interviewing 访问 witnesses of the disaster 5. To the two boys, the most interesting note came in a statement 声明 by the announcer 宣布 that a very slight earth tremor 震 had been felt in Shopton.

"But no damage 损害 occurred 发生 except along the water front," the announcer 宣布 explained.

Tom gave a snort 哼 of anger 生气, jumped up from his chair, and began pacing 步伐，速度 about the living room. "Bud, I feel sure that wall of water was caused by a minor 次要 earthquake 地震!" the young inventor declared. "What's more, I'll bet it was man-made!"

Bud stared at his friend, appalled 惊恐 but feeling a hot surge 浪涌 of anger himself. "If you're right, pal 朋友, it's the most fiendish sabotage 破坏 I've ever heard of! Think of all the lives that were end‧anger 危害!"

Tom nodded 点头 grimly 严峻. "I am thinking!"

Both boys jerked 混蛋 around to look at the TV set again as a studio 工作室 announcer 宣布's voice suddenly broke into the telecast:

" Flash 使闪光! A severe 严峻的 quake has occurred 发生 at the head‧quarter 总部 of the American Archives Foundation 基础, a hundred 百 miles from Shopton. The Foundation's buildings, containing many price‧less 无价 government and scientific documents 文件, were badly 很糟地 damaged, and an under‧ground 地下 micro‧film 微‧影片 vault 拱顶 was utterly 完全 destroyed. Apparently this quake was part of the tremor 震 felt here at Shopton."

Within minutes the Swifts' home phone began jangling constantly 总是；经常地，不断地. Some calls were from friends, others from strangers 陌生人. Many of the calls were routed 路线 through from the Enterprises switch‧board 总机.

One was from Dan Perkins of the Shopton Bulletin. "What about it, Tom?" the editor 编辑 demanded. "I guess you know by now the public's aroused 引起 and in a state of near panic 恐慌 over all these quakes. What they all want to know is this: are you, Tom Swift, going to find a way to stop all this destruction 破坏?"

Tom's jaw 3 jutted 突出部分 out angrily. "Yes, I am!" he snapped 卡. "And you can quote 引用 me on that!"

CHAPTER VIII

A SUSPECT TALKS

The next morning Tom was up at the crack of dawn 黎明, grimly 严峻 determined to find an answer to the earthquake 地震 menace 威胁. He ate a hasty 匆 break‧fast 早餐, then drove to his private laboratory 实验室 at Enterprises. He instructed 指导 the switch‧board 总机 operator to shut 关闭 off all incoming 来 calls, then plunged 跳水 into a study of the mystifying problem.

Earthquake activity, Tom knew, tends to occur 发生 in circular 圆形的 patterns, like bands around the earth—for instance 例, the circum-Pacific belt 腰带, and another belt extending east‧ward 东方的 from the Mediterranean through Asia and on into the East Indies. Often these quake lines are visible 可以看见的；可视的 as breaks or ruptures 破裂 along the ground surface, called fault 缺点 traces 跟踪. No doubt, Tom thought, there were many more uncharted ones.

Could an enemy scientist be making use of these earth faults to produce a man-made quake? Tom mulled over the disturbing idea.

"How would I tackle 滑车 the job myself 我, if I had to under‧take 承担 such a project 项目 for national 国民 defense?" the young inventor mused 沉思. He felt a growing sense of excitement 激动 as an idea began to take shape in his mind.

What about an artificial 人造的 shock wave!

An hour later Bud Barclay walked into the laboratory 实验室 and found Tom hunched 直觉 over a jumbled 混乱pile 堆 of reference books on his work‧bench 工作‧长凳.

"What cooks, skipper 船长?" Bud asked.

Tom looked up, his blue eyes blazing 火焰. "Bud, I think I may have the answer!"

Tom got up from his stool 粪便 and paced about the laboratory 实验室. "Suppose the Brungarian rebel 反叛 scientists have invented some sort of shock-wave producer—a device 设备 for sending vibrations 振动 through the earth's crust 脆皮 or the mantle 披风 underneath 在...之下."

"Okay 好的, suppose they have," Bud replied.

Tom snatched 抢夺 up a piece of chalk 粉笔 and made some quick diagrams 图 on a black‧board 黑色‧板，上船. "Just this, pal 朋友. Let's say they set up two or three stations around the world for sending out such waves in a definite 定 direction. Wherever 随地 the wave crosses an earth fault 缺点 or another wave—boom 繁荣! An earthquake 地震!"

Bud stared. "No kidding 孩子, is that how those rats 鼠 triggered 触发 off all these quakes?"

"It must be," Tom declared. "It's the only possible explanation 说明."

"Good night!" Bud gasped 喘气 weakly. "What a weapon! Just push a button 按钮 every so often and you could blow up another country bit 一点 by bit—and no one could ever prove who was behind the attack!"

Tom nodded 点头. "Enough to make every American shiver 发抖, if he only knew!"

"What can we do about it?" Bud asked.

Tom resumed 恢复 his worried pacing. "I'll have to invent 发明 a shock-wave deflector, Bud. It must be done in a hurry, too. Our enemy may start to destroy American cities as well as vital 重要的 defense plants!"

Immediately Tom put through an urgent 急迫的 call to an eminent 杰出 scientist in Washington who was a member of the National 国民 Research Council. Quickly he out‧line 概述；轮廓线 a plan.

"Tom, I'll talk to the president's special science adviser 顾问 at once," the man promised. "I'll try to set up a meeting for ten 十 o' clock 钟 tomorrow morning at Enterprises."

Feeling relieved 解除, Tom left the plant with Bud. The two boys drove off to attend church with Mrs. Swift and Sandy. Then, after the Sunday midday 正午 meal, Tom returned to his laboratory 实验室 to work on ideas for a shock-wave deflector.

Bud and Sandy, meanwhile, drove to the Shopton Yacht Club to inspect 检查 the damage to the Sunspot. Tom had arranged with a salvage 打捞 crew to tow 拖 the disabled 禁用 ketch back to its slip.

Monday morning, a sleek 光滑 Air Force jet 喷射 transport 运输 touched down at Swift Enterprises. Aboard were a select 选择 group of top government scientists. Tom and Bud greeted them as they disembarked on the runway 跑道, then drove them to a conference 会议 room in the Enterprises main building.

"I'd say your theory 理论 is right, Tom, about the quakes being produced by artificial 人造的 shock waves," said Bernt Ahlgren, a tall, hawk 鹰-faced man with a shock of red hair. He was a member of the Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency. "But how do we stop them?"

"I believe they can be damped 微湿的 out by opposing waves," Tom replied. "This is assuming 承担 that I can design the right sort of equipment 设备 to do the job—and also that we can set up a warning system to alert 警报 us of the enemy shock waves in time." The young inventor sketched 草图 out the sort of shock-wave deflector which he had in mind. The government experts 专家 were very much impressed. In the session 会议 that followed, the visiting scientists contributed 有助于 many tips and suggestions 建议. Tom noted them down gratefully 感激的.

After a thorough discussion, it was agreed that the Defense Department would set up detectors 探测器 at fifty 五十 check points around the country. Tom would choose the exact spots. Detection data 数据 from the check points would be fed to an electronic 电子 computer. The computer would establish 建立 the pattern, if any, of incoming 来 enemy shock waves.

Dr. Gregg Miles, a seismologist from the Bureau of Mines, agreed to take on the job of setting up the check points.

"Thanks for your prompt 敏捷的 co-operation," Tom said, smiling gratefully as the meeting broke up.

"We should thank you, Tom, for coming up with a plan to cope 应付 with this fiendish threat 威胁," Ahlgren replied. The others heartily 爽朗 agreed.

Shortly after lunch 3, Tom was hard at work in his laboratory 实验室 when the telephone rang. It was Chief Slater at Shopton police head‧quarter 总部.

"You'd better get over here fast, Tom," Slater said. "Samson Narko is ready to talk!"

Tom needed no urging. "Right, Chief!"

As he drove into Shopton, Tom wondered what the Brungarian agent would reveal 揭示. Was it possible that he might tip 尖；窍门 off the whole secret behind the destructive 破坏性的 man-made earthquakes 地震?

Chief Slater was waiting in his office. "Narko showed signs of cracking this morning," Slater told Tom, "so I notified 通知 the Central 中央 Intelligence 情报 Agency. They're flying a man up here—in fact he should be here by now. Narko won't talk till 到 he arrives."

"How come?" Tom asked.

"Narko wants a bar‧gain 讨价还价；交易," Slater explained. "If the government will promise to deport 驱逐出境 him at once without trial, he'll spill 溢出 what he knows."

Tom whistled 吹口哨. "I sure wouldn't want to be in his shoes when he gets back to Brungaria! His bosses 老板 aren't stupid 愚蠢的. They'll know he must have made a deal to get off scot free!"

Just then a taxi 出租车 from the air‧port 飞机场 pulled up outside police head‧quarter 总部, and the CIA official was ushered 招待员 into Slater's office. He proved to be John Thurston.

"Narko's waiting in his cell 细胞," Slater said, after an exchange of handshakes. "Let's hope he hasn't changed his mind."

The Brungarian spy 间谍 rose rise from his cot 婴儿床 as the turn‧key 转；翻‧钥匙 unlocked 开锁 his cell 细胞 door.

"You are from Washington, eh?" Narko said to Thurston. "Very well. I presume 假设 the police have told you my offer. Is it a bar‧gain 讨价还价；交易?"

Thurston was poker 捅火钩；扑克-faced. "You know the penalty 罚款 for spying 间谍!" he snapped 卡. "In your own country it would mean death. Why should we let you off?"

Narko's calmness evaporated 蒸发. Beads of sweat 流汗 burst 爆裂 out on his fore‧head 前额.

"I have done no harm 损害 and I know little or nothing of my superiors 优越' plans!" the spy 间谍 said excitedly. "Why should I lie to you with my life at stake 赌注? After all, I am only an insignificant 微不足道 agent. But one important thing I do know—and this I will reveal 揭示 if you promise to deport 驱逐出境 me at once!"

Thurston eyed him coldly. "Very well," the CIA man decided. "You have my word."

Narko sat down on his cot 婴儿床, breathing heavily 很大，沉重地. Then he looked up at the three Americans. "Your nation's capital, Washington, D.C., is going to be blown blow up!" the Brungarian asserted 断言.

His words struck like a bomb‧shell 炸弹，武器‧壳. Chief Slater and John Thurston stared at Narko in open-mouthed astonishment 惊愕.

Then Slater scowled. "What a preposterous story! I suppose they're going to fly a plane 平面 over and drop an atom 原子 bomb 炸弹—just like that!" He snapped 卡 his fingers.

Thurston was also inclined 倾斜 to doubt Narko's story. Any such bold 胆大的；醒目的 move by the Brungarians, he declared, would amount to an act of war.

"It is the truth!" Narko shouted. "Do not forget—you have made a promise."

Tom Swift did not share Chief Slater's and Thurston's skepticism 怀疑论. Narko's words had chilled 寒意 him with dismay 沮丧. He called the other two aside and gave them a quick whispered briefing 简要 on the theory 理论 he had discussed with the government scientists, asking them to keep it confidential 秘密的.

If the Brungarians indeed had a means of producing artificial 人造的 shock waves, Tom pointed out, they could easily destroy Washington without the slightest risk to themselves.

Both Thurston and Chief Slater were alarmed 警告. Turning back to Narko, they grilled 烤架 him for clues 线索. But it seemed obvious 明显 that the Brungarian was telling all he knew—or, at any rate, all he intended to reveal 揭示.

"We're wasting our time," Thurston said finally, with a look of disgust 反感. "But I made a promise in the name of the United States government and the promise will be kept."

Turning to Chief Slater, the CIA man added, "Turn him over to the FBI and have them take him to New York. I'll arrange for a seat on the first plane 平面 for Brungaria."

Tom drove back thoughtfully 沉思地 to Enterprises. Bud was waiting in his laboratory 实验室 with news.

"Your dad 爸 went from Washington to Fearing Island and has gone up to your space out‧post 前哨," Bud reported. "He has to do some experiments for the government project 项目 he's working on."

The out‧post 前哨 was a space station which Tom Swift Jr. had built 22,300 miles above the earth. It was a production factory 工厂 for his famous 著名 solar 太阳能 batteries 电池, and also an immensely 极大的 valuable 贵重的 setup 建立 for space research and exploration 勘探.

"Think I'll radio Dad 爸 and let him know what's going on," Tom decided. "He may have some good suggestions. He usually does!"

Tom warmed up his private transmitter 发射机-receiver and beamed out a code 码 call through the automatic 自动 scrambler 争夺. Seconds later, the loud-speaker crackled 裂纹 in response 响应.

But just as the out‧post 前哨 operator's voice came through, the radio set exploded in Tom's face!

CHAPTER IX

THE CAVE MONSTER

"Skipper!" Bud cried anxiously 焦急的 as Tom staggered 错开 back, his hands to his face.

"I'm all right—no harm 损害 done," Tom assured 向…保证；肯定地说 his friend.

Both boys were a bit shaken shake by the accident, nevertheless 虽然. Chow came rushing in as Bud was brushing the fragments 分段 of debris 废墟 from Tom's clothes and examining the young inventor's face.

"Brand 牌 my flyin' flapjacks, what happened?" Chow asked. The chef 厨师 had been bringing a tray 盘子 of fruit juice 果汁 to the laboratory 实验室 and had heard the explosion 爆炸 outside.

"The radio set just blew blow up in my face," Tom explained. "Fortunately, the equipment 设备 was transistorized mostly with printed circuits 电路. Otherwise," he added, "I might have been badly 很糟地 cut by slivers of glass from the exploding 爆 vacuum 真空 tubes 管."

As it was, the young inventor had suffered only a few slight scratches 刮 and a bruise 挫伤 on the temple 庙 from a piece of the shattered 打碎 housing. Bud swabbed Tom's injuries 伤 with antiseptic from the first-aid 援助 cabinet 内阁 while Chow poured out glasses of grape 葡萄 juice 果汁.

"What caused it, Tom?" Bud asked as they paused to sip 啜 the fruit drink.

"Good question," Tom replied. "Frankly, I don't know." But he was wondering if the set might have been sabotaged 破坏.

Tom was still eager to get in touch with his father and telephoned the electronics 电子 department to bring another set to his laboratory 实验室. Chow left just as the new set arrived.

Tom hooked 钩 it up quickly, donned a set of goggles 护目镜, and tuned 曲调 to the space-station frequency 频繁性. Then he picked up the micro‧phone 麦克风 and stepped well back from the set, waving Bud out of range at the same time.

"Tom Swift calling Outpost!... Come in, please!"

A moment later came another explosion 爆炸! The new set had also blown up!

"Good night!" Bud gasped 喘气 in a stunned 击晕 voice. "Don't tell me that's just a coincidence 巧合!"

Tom shrugged 耸. "We can certainly rule out the possibility 可能性 that anything was wrong with the radio itself 本身. Every set is checked before it leaves the electronics 电子 department."

"So where does that leave us?" Bud persisted 坚持.

Tom shook his head worriedly as he took off the goggles 护目镜. "Both times it seemed to happen just as the reply was coming through from the space station. There is no possibility 可能性 that their signal was too strong—in other words, that the explosion 3 was caused by over‧load 超载 the receiving circuits 电路."

"Are you implying 意味着 that an enemy intercepted 截距 the message and sent some sort of ray 光束 that caused the set to explode 爆?" Bud demanded.

Tom's face showed clearly that Bud had pin‧point 查明 the suspicion 怀疑 in the young inventor's mind. "Could be."

Bud was worried by this latest development. "Skipper, suppose I hop 跳 up to the space wheel and talk it over with your dad 爸. He may be able to help us detect 发现，察觉，看出 any enemy moves."

"Good idea, pal 朋友," Tom agreed. "The sooner the better, I'd say."

The boys exchanged a quick hand‧shake 握手 and affectionate 亲热 shoulder slaps 拍击. Then Bud hurried out to one of the Enterprises hangars to ready a helijet for the flight 飞行 to Fearing Island. This was the Swifts' rocket 火箭 base, just off the Atlantic coast. From there, Bud would board one of the regular cargo 货物 shuttle 穿梭 rockets 火箭 operating between the space station and Fearing.

Tom, meanwhile, plunged 跳水 back to work on his shock-wave deflector.

At ten 十 the next morning he called in Hank Sterling and showed him a set of completed drawings.

"Hank, you did a fast job on the container for the brain," Tom began apologetically, "but you'll really have to burn out a bearing on this one!"

Hank grinned 微笑. "I'm geared 齿轮 to action. Say, what do we call it, anyhow 总之?" he asked.

Tom grinned 微笑. "Chow told me last night this gadget 小工具 looked like a fire‧plug 火‧插头 under a rose trellis and I ought to call it Fireplug Rose! But I've given it a more dignified 褒 name—the Quakelizor, which stands for an under‧ground 地下 quake wave deflector."

Briefly 短时间地, Tom explained the various parts of his latest invention 发明, which consisted 组成 of a hydrant-sized cylinder 圆筒 to be inserted 插 into the ground, with magnetic 磁性 coils 盘 near the top. A smaller hydraulic 液 cylinder 圆筒, mounted above this, was wired to a metal frame‧work 构架 and radio transmitter 发射机.

"This setup 建立 will detect 发现，察觉，看出 any incoming 来 enemy shock waves," Tom said. "We'll need fifty 五十 of 'em, so turn the job over to Swift Construction 施工. And have Uncle 叔叔 Ned put on extra 额外的 shifts 转移."

The Swift Construction 施工 Company, managed by Ned Newton, was the commercial division which mass-produced Tom Jr.'s and Tom Sr.'s inventions.

Information from the detector 探测器-transmitters 发射机, Tom went on, would be fed into an electronic 电子 computer at the Bureau of Mines in Washington.

The Quakelizor itself 本身 was housed in a massive 大规模的 cube 立方体-shaped casting 种姓 with two large spheres 领域 mounted on top. From each of its four sides jutted 突出部分 a hydraulic 液 piston.

"How does it work, Tom?" Hank asked.

"Dual-control spheres 领域 on top," Tom explained, "will receive by radio signal the pulse 脉冲 frequency 频繁性 computed 计算 in Washington."

He added that inside each sphere 领域 was a "pulsemaker." This would produce changes in the pressure of the hydraulic 液 fluid 流体 by affecting 影响 the kinetic energy 能源 of the fluid 流体's atoms 原子.

The pressure changes would then be enormously 巨大 magnified 放大 in the four hydraulic 液 output 产量 drivers 司机. When the unit was embedded 嵌 in rock, under‧ground 地下, the huge 巨大 pistons would send out counter shock waves through the earth's crust 脆皮 to neutralize 抵消 the enemy waves.

"Wow!" Hank Sterling was breath‧less 咋舌 at the sheer scope 范围 of the young scientist's newest invention 3. "I'll get hot on the job right away."

After forty 四十-eight 八 hours of round-the- clock 钟 work, the equipment 设备 was ready. Tom conferred 授予 by telephone with both Dr. Miles in the Bureau of Mines and Bernt Ahlgren in the Pentagon. He had already chosen choose the spots for the detector 探测器-transmitter 发射机 check points.

Tom told the men that he believed the best spot for the Quakelizor itself 本身 was on a certain government reservation 保留 in Colorado. A deep under‧ground 地下 cave 洞穴 there would provide a perfect site.

"We'll be close enough to the San Andreas fault 3 to prevent a really huge 巨大-scale disaster," Tom explained. "And the Rocky Mountain structure 结构体 will give us a good bed‧rock 床‧岩石 medium 中 for shooting out waves any‧where 任何地方 across the continent 大陆."

Dr. Miles and Ahlgren agreed enthusiastically 踊跃. Tom and the two scientists spoke over a three-way telephone hookup—with automatic 自动 scramblers to counter the danger of enemy monitors 监控—laying plans to install 安装 the equipment 设备. Ahlgren agreed to fly a technical 技术 crew out to the spot in Colorado which Tom had named.

The next day, Tom, Hank, and several top Enterprises' engineers, including Art Wiltessa, took off in the Sky Queen 女王. This was Tom's huge 巨大 atomic 原子-powered Flying Lab. The massive 大规模的 plane 平面 flew at supersonic speeds and was equipped 装备 with jet 喷射 lifters for vertical 垂直 take-off or hovering 徘徊.

A Whirling Duck 鸭子 heliplane, loaded with communications 通讯 equipment 设备, accompanied 陪 the Sky Queen. In little more than an hour, the two craft 手艺 touched down in a rugged 小块地毯 Colorado canyon 峡谷. The government technical 技术 crew was already on hand.

"Glad to know you," Tom said, shaking hands with the engineer in charge. He introduced his own men and added, "Better roll up your sleeves 袖. This job is going to take plenty of oomph!"

The parts of the Quakelizor were unloaded 卸下 from the Sky Queen onto dollies. Then the group, armed with bull 公牛's-eye lanterns 灯笼, flashlights, and walkie-talkies, hauled 运输 the parts by tractor 拖拉机 into the cave 洞穴.

"Okay 好的. Now let's pick out the spot for embedding 嵌 the unit," Tom said.

The men had no sooner begun to look around the huge 巨大 under‧ground 地下 chamber 室 when a fear‧some 害怕‧一些 growl 吠声 rumbled 隆隆 through the cave. Everyone whirled 旋转 about and the next instant froze 使结冰；不动:freeze in horror 恐怖.

A huge 巨大 bear reared 后 up in the mouth of the cave 3! The monster 怪物 snarled 搞乱 and blinked 眨 its yellow eyes in the glare 强光 of lights.

"We're trapped!" Hank cried out.

The enormous 巨大 bruin was now waving his huge 巨大 head from side to side, as if daring the intruders 侵入者 to step up and fight.

Several of the government men had brought rifles 步枪 and shot‧gun 滑膛枪. But in spite 恶意 of their peril 岌, no one wanted to shoot the hand‧some 英俊 old fellow.

"I'll send out an SOS," Tom said. "If help arrives before the bear attacks, we won't use guns."

He radioed the local Forest Ranger post. After a nerve 神经-racking 架 wait, with the group expecting a charge from the beast 野兽 at any minute, two rangers 游侠 appeared and captured 捕获 the bear with a net 网. One man of the government work crew knocked together a stout 肥硕 wooden 木制的 cage 笼子. The beast, out‧rage 暴行, was loaded aboard 船上 the heliplane to be released 发布 in an area remote 远程 from the cave.

Now the grueling job of installing 安装 the Quakelizor began. First the cave was cleared of debris 废墟, bats 蝙蝠, and other small living creatures. Then a site was marked out on the cave floor. Tom had brought along a midget model of his great atomic 原子 earth blaster 爆破, which he had invented to drill 钻头 for iron 铁器 at the South Pole.

With the blaster 爆破, Tom quickly drilled 钻头 a pit 坑 of exact size into the bed‧rock 床‧岩石. Then the Quakelizor was assembled 集合 and lowered into place by a port‧able 手提 crane 起重机. A power plant and radio antenna 天线 were set up and the installation 安装 was finally completed.

"I must return to Shopton now," Tom said. "Art here will stick around and help you operate the setup 建立," he told the government engineers after radio contact 联系 had been made with Washington. "If anything goes wrong, just flash 使闪光 word to Enterprises."

The Sky Queen and the heliplane sped back across the continent 大陆. As Tom landed at Enterprises he was greeted by Bud, who came speeding out on the air‧field 机场 by jeep 吉普车.

"Just got back from the space wheel about an hour ago," Bud said. "Your dad 爸's really worried about those exploding radio sets, Tom. He has no clues 线索, but he's sure the scientists working for the Brungarian rebel 反叛 setup 建立 are responsible. He thinks they may try to ruin 破坏 all of Enterprises' communications 通讯 system by remote 远程 control."

Tom's face was grave 坟墓；严重的 as he listened. The two boys discussed the problem as they drove to the Swifts' office in the main building.

"Boy, I sure wish I could think of some way to cope 应付 with it," Tom said wearily 厌倦, flopping 拍击声 down in his desk chair.

"Your dad 爸 said to give it the old college try," Bud reported. "And he also said he'd be back in two days to help you on the problem."

Tom glanced 一瞥 at the calendar 日历. "Which reminds me," he said, "on Monday the brain energy 能源 will be due from space!"

The thought sent a thrill 颤抖 of excitement 激动 tinged with worry through the young inventor's mind. Would the container he had devised 设计 prove suit‧able 适当?

"Hey! A call on the video‧phone 影片‧电话!" Bud pointed to the red light flashing 使闪光 on the control board. He jumped up and switched 开关 on the set.

Blake, the Washington announcer 宣布, appeared on the screen.

"Bad news, skipper 船长," he said ominously 不祥的. "An earthquake 地震 tremor 震 was just felt here in Washington. It centered in a ship‧yard 船‧院子 on the Potomac and caused great damage!"

CHAPTER X

ENERGY FROM PLANET X

Tom and Bud listened in dismay 沮丧 as Blake reported all the details he had been able to gather.

"Was my Quakelizor a flop 拍击声, Bud?" Tom muttered 咕哝, his shoulders drooping as the announcer 宣布 signed off. "It must have been!"

"Don't be silly 愚蠢! Snap out of it!" Bud gave his pal 朋友 a cheerful 快乐 poke 戳 in the ribs 肋骨, hoping to buck 降压 him up. "You heard what Blake said—Washington itself 本身 was hardly touched. Without your setup 建立, think of all the people that might have been killed or injured 损伤! And all the government buildings that might have been wrecked, maybe even the White House. I'd say your shock-wave deflector must have been at least ninety 九十 per cent effective!"

Tom brightened 变亮 some‧what 有些 on hearing Bud's words. He picked up the phone, and placed a call to Dr. Miles at the Bureau of Mines. It was almost half an hour before the operator was able to get a line through. But Tom felt the suspense 悬念 had been worth while when Dr. Miles exclaimed 喊叫:

"Tom, it was a miracle 奇迹 you completed the Quakelizor installation 安装 in time! In all probability 可能性 it saved us from a major national 国民 disaster, perhaps worse than Pearl 珍珠 Harbor 海港!"

Tom felt a glow 辉光 of pride 自尊 and relief. "Thanks, sir 先生. But what about the ship‧yard 船‧院子 destruction 3?" he added, still not entirely convinced 说服.

"That was a bad break, Tom," Dr. Miles admitted. "Our detectors 探测器 showed that the shock waves had been almost damped out when a sudden power failure occurred 发生. It turned out that an over‧load 超载 had shorted the Quakelizor's power plant. The crew had it fixed within moments, but by that time the damage was done."

Tom winced WINCE as he heard of the unfortunate 不幸的 accident, but was thankful 感谢 the results had been no worse.

Miles went on to say that he had just been conferring 授予 with Ahlgren at the Pentagon. The Defense Department now feared that attempts might be made against other large cities and was therefore eager to have Tom deliver several quake deflectors as soon as possible. These would be installed 安装 at strategic 战略 points around the country.

"The government heads were so impressed with your invention, Tom," Dr. Miles added, "that they'll probably be walking the floor anxiously until the others arrive."

Tom chuckled 暗笑, then became serious. "Tell them we'll go to work right away," he informed the seismologist. "I'll have the new Quakelizors ready as soon as possible, but you'd better warn your associates 关联 it's bound 必定；跳 to take a few days."

As soon as the conversation was completed, Tom dialed 拨号 Ned Newton at the Swift Construction 施工 Company. Although he was actually not a relative of the Swifts, both Tom and Sandy had from childhood 童年 called him "Uncle Ned."

"What's up, Tom?" he asked.

Tom told him of the latest request from Washington and asked that another three-shift 转移 work schedule 时间表 be set up to turn out the additional 额外 Quakelizors.

"Hank and I will bring the blue‧print 蓝图 over right away, if you don't mind being late to dinner," Tom said.

Ned Newton agreed willingly 甘心, only too happy to help cope 应付 with the quake menace 威胁. By eight 八 o'clock 3 that evening, work on the project 项目 was proceeding 继续 at great speed. The Swift Construction 施工 Company continued humming 哼 with activity around the clock.

The week end was almost over by the time Mr. Swift arrived back from the space station. Tom flew to Fearing Island to meet him. On the short hop 跳 back to Enterprises, they discussed the radio problem.

"I think the solution's been staring us in the face, Dad 爸, but we've been too worried to think of it," Tom said. "Remember Li Ching's jamming 果酱-wave generator 发电机?"

He was referring to a device 设备 used recently by an Oriental foe 敌人 of Tom and his father. Mr. Swift's eyes lighted up with a quick flash of understanding.

"Dad 爸, you wrote a report on the generator 发电机 for the government with a memo 备忘录 on possible ways to combat 战斗 it," Tom went on. "Maybe the same measures would work in this case."

The Swifts had discovered that their enemy had been intercepting 截距 Tom's messages, thereby 从而 learning the frequency to which the Swifts' receiver was tuned. They then radiated 辐射 a signal at this frequency, modulated at the frequency to which the local oscillator was set. This had caused a buildup of energy 能源 in the I. F. trans‧former 变压器, resulting in their explosion.

Now Mr. Swift said, "You're right, son. We'll insert 插 a blocking filter 过滤 in the R. F. stage that should do the trick 哄骗；诀窍."

Their minds relieved of this problem, the Swifts were eagerly looking forward to the arrival 到达 of the brain energy 能源 from space the next day. The scheduled 时间表 time, if pin‧point 查明 at exactly two weeks from the moment when the first message was received, would be half an hour past noon 正午.

The spot, two miles from Enterprises, was on a lonely 孤独的 hill‧side 山坡. It was shaded by trees, higher up the slope 斜坡, with bushes 灌木 and other wild-growing greenery softening 软的:soft its con‧tour 轮廓. Over the week end, Tom had had carp‧enter 木匠 from Enterprises put up a small cabin 舱 at the foot.

As twelve 十二-thirty 三十 approached, Tom, Bud, Mr. Swift, Hank Sterling, Arv Hanson, and several other Swift technicians 技术员 stood by at the scene with the star-headed container. Chow had also begged 乞讨 to be on hand.

"I jest got to see Ole Think Box come to life!" he said.

Eyes darted 镖 back and forth from wrist 腕 watches to sky as the zero 零 moment ticked 蜱 closer. Bud even began muttering 咕哝 a count‧down 数；总数‧往下.

"X minus 减去 three... X minus 减去 two... X minus 减去 one... This is it!"

All eyes flashed sky‧ward 天（空）‧病房. But nothing happened! Not a speck showed in the blue, cloud‧less 云‧少 sky.

The watchers 守望者 glanced 一瞥 at one another uncertainly 不确定. More minutes went by. Soon it was quarter to one... then one o'clock.

"No mistake about the time, was there?" Arv asked.

Mr. Swift shook his head. "Not if the code 码 was translated 翻译 correctly." He frowned 皱眉. "It's true they spoke merely in terms of days. But their time references are usually very precise 精确."

The waiting group fidgeted and prowled back and forth to ease 轻松 their tension 紧张. Feelings of suspense 悬念 began changing into gloom 愁云 after two more hours had passed with no sign from the sky.

Disappointed but unable 无法 to wait any longer, the technical 技术 men went back to the plant, one by one. Hank Sterling, too, and Arv Hanson finally had to leave.

"Sorry, skipper 船长," Hank muttered 咕哝. "Ring us right away if it shows up."

"Sure, Hank."

As six o'clock went by, Chow tried to pep up his companions 4' drooping spirits with a simple but tasty 可口 supper 晚饭, warmed up on an electric hot plate 盘子 in the cabin 舱.

"What do you think, skipper 船长? Are we out of luck?" Bud asked as they ate.

"Our space friends haven't let us down yet," Tom replied. "I'm sure they won't this time." Though he didn't say so aloud 高声, Tom was worried that their Brungarian enemies might have managed to divert 转移 and capture 捕获 the energy 能源.

Mr. Swift seemed to read Tom's thoughts. "Let's hope no hitch 拴住 has occurred 发生," he said quietly.

The sun went down. Twilight slowly deepened 变深. The trees on the hill‧side 山坡 faded from view in the gathering darkness 黑暗.

"There it is!" Bud yelled 叫喊 suddenly.

Electrified, the four sprang up in an instant. A speck of light was sailing across the sky! But their faces fell as it drew draw closer.

"Only an air‧plane 飞机," Bud grumbled 叽.

At ten 十 o'clock Mr. Swift gave a weary 厌倦 yawn 打哈欠. "The spirit is willing but the flesh 肉 is weak," he confessed. "I got only two hours of sleep on the space wheel, and apparently last night wasn't enough to catch up. Sorry, fellows."

"Why don't you go home, Dad 爸? Hit the hay 干草," Tom said sympathetically 同情的.

Promising to take a turn on watch if the vigil 守夜 continued through the next day, Mr. Swift drove off in his car.

Time dragged 拖拽 by slowly as the three remaining watchers 守望者 chatted 聊 and looked hopefully 希望 at the stars. Eventually 终于 Chow propped 支柱 himself against a tree and dropped off to sleep to the accompaniment 伴奏 of low-droning 无人驾驶飞机 snores 鼾. Bud too began to drowse.

It was long past mid‧night 午夜 when Tom suddenly caught sight of a moving light in the sky. He stiffened and held his breath. Another false 虚伪的 alarm 警告?

But no! A glowing 辉光, faintly 微弱的 bluish mass with a comet 彗星 tail 尾 of luminous orange 桔子 red was slowly proceeding 继续 through the pattern of stars!

"Hey, fellows! Wake 醒 up!" Tom shouted. He sprang to his feet and unlatched a single point of the star head. Within seconds, Bud and Chow were both wide awake 醒着的, as excited as Tom. The blue nebulous mass moved closer and closer. The three watchers 守望者 were speech‧less 演说‧少 with awe 威严.

As the ball of energy 能源 descended toward them, it lit up the whole scene. The hill‧side 山坡 looked almost as if it were on fire. The earth vibrated 颤动, and the air had the sharp smell of ozone 臭氧. This was followed by a frightening 使惊恐 clatter 哒 and rumble 隆隆. The force of the energy 能源 was sweeping down rocks, gravel 碎石, and shrubbery in a hill‧side 山坡 avalanche 雪崩!

"Look out!" Chow shrieked 尖叫. "We'll be pulverized in this rock stampede!" He streaked 条纹 for cover as a huge 巨大 boulder 漂砾 came plunging 跳水 straight toward him.

"Hold fast, Bud!" Tom cried. "Nothing's headed our way!"

Steeling his nerves 神经, he grabbed the waiting container and held on grimly 严峻. An instant later the glowing 辉光 mass sharpened 使锐利 and narrowed itself 本身 into a snake‧like 蛇‧喜欢；象 bolt 螺栓 of fire that arced 弧 straight into the head of Tom's invention.

Tom gave a yell 叫喊 of triumph 胜利 and clamped 钳 the star point shut, then pushed a button 按钮 to activate 启用 the self 自己-sealing 封上，海豹 process.

Chow peered 窥视 out cautiously from behind a clump 丛 of rock. The next second, he let out a Texas whoop 叫喊, bounded 必定；跳 from cover like an over-sized gnome, and sent his ten 十-gallon 加仑 hat sailing high into the air.

"Yippee!"

Bud cheered 欢呼 too. "The visitor from Planet X has arrived!"

In their excitement 激动 and relief, the three hugged 拥抱 one another and jumped for  joy 喜悦.

"Should we wake up your dad 爸 and tell him the good news—or keep it a surprise till morning?" Bud asked Tom.

"I guess we'd better—"

Tom broke off in a gasp 喘气 as the robot‧like 机器人‧喜欢；象 container suddenly began to whirl 旋转—slowly at first, then faster and faster. Spinning crazily 荒唐的 like a huge 巨大 run‧away 逃跑 top, it darted 镖 up, down, and about the hill‧side 山坡.

Tom and his two companions 5 stared in help‧less 无助 amazement 惊愕.

"Great horned 角；喇叭 toads! What's it up to?" Chow exclaimed 喊叫.

"Seems like the energy 能源's trying to get out!" Bud guessed. "Something must be bothering 烦 it."

Tom shook his head incredulously. "No reason for that. The container was absolutely empty."

Chow suddenly gave a groan 呻吟 and slapped 拍击 his fore‧head 前额 in dismay 沮丧. "Brand 牌 my Big Dipper!" the cook said. "Mebbe Ole Think Box has gone loco! An' it could be my fault!"

CHAPTER XI