TOM DRUGGED!
Tom had headed the ship up at a steep angle so as to get as much
altitude as possible before the other motor should stop. But he knew in
his heart that he could not hope to glide so heavy a plane as far as the
lake.
[Illustration: Tom Headed the Ship Up]
In some surprise Ned observed that Captain Britten was fumbling with
the straps about his big, old-fashioned valise. Young Newton wondered
what the elderly man was looking for so intensely.
"Ahoy there, Tom Swift!" boomed the old diver, straightening up with a
bottle in his hand. "I've got a drop o' gasoline here that may help ye!"
[Illustration: "I've Got a Drop of Gasoline."]
"What's that?" gasped the pilot. Turning, he saw the quart bottle.
Already the remaining engine was dying of thirst. "Quick, Ned!" he
ordered, snatching the container. "Take the controls and hold the ship
level."
Five seconds later the inventor was creeping out along one wing toward
the intake valve of the port gas tank. Their hearts almost in their
mouths, his companions watched his hazardous progress. In spite of the
clutching hand of the wind and the quavering of the ship under Ned's
inexpert guidance, Tom managed to reach his goal.
[Illustration: He Crept Along One Wing]
Removing the cap with no little difficulty, he dumped the precious
drops of gasoline into the tank. In a few moments he got back to the
cabin. As he closed the door the laboring engine once more resumed its
full-throated roar.
"Lad, you've got what it takes!" rumbled Captain Britten, shaking Tom's
hand approvingly. "You're a mighty brave young fellow!"
"You mean YOU had what it takes," laughed the inventor, taking over the
controls preparatory to landing on Carlopa. "Without that extra bit of
gas we'd be piled up in a tree by now!"
[Illustration: He Emptied the Precious Drops]
The quart of fuel was just sufficient to carry the ship safely down to
the lake's surface at a point about three miles from the town.
Fortunately one of Tom's friends was sailing near-by in his cat-boat and
gladly offered to take the three over to the Swift dock, which jutted
out from the grounds behind Tom's home.
It was mid-afternoon before the "Winged Arrow" was towed across to the
dock and her tanks refilled with high-test gasoline. While this was
being done, Tom and Ned went to the home of Mr. Damon to ask if he would
like to accompany them to the West Indies.
[Illustration: Tom Saw a Friend]
The man was found to be sitting in an easy chair on his front porch,
where he spent much time, now that he was home from the hospital.
[Illustration: They Went to See Mr. Damon]
"Bless my parachute, I'd like nothing better than to make the trip!" he
said a trifle wistfully. "To tell you the truth, though," his voice
sank to a whisper, "between the doctors and Mrs. Damon I'll be lucky if
I'm allowed to walk around the block alone for some time to come!"
"Well, that's too bad, Mr. Damon. We were counting on you."
[Illustration: "We Were Counting on You."]
"Bless my fishing tackle, Tom, I'm sorry too. But tell me! How did
Captain Britten happen to be carrying a quart of gasoline in his
satchel?" asked the eccentric gentleman after he had been told of the
airplane's narrow escape.
"I thought it strange myself," said Tom, "but he claimed he always
carries some with him to remove grease spots from his clothes."
"Ha! He must be quite a character. I suppose aboard a salvage boat folks
get their clothes pretty dirty, at that."
After the boys returned home it was decided that they and Mr. Britten
would set out for Florida the next morning. In the meantime, the
elderly diver telegraphed his caretaker to get the "Betsy B." in order
and arrange to hire a tug-boat.
[Illustration: They Planned to Start the Next Day]
Late in the afternoon Tom called his chum on the phone. "Can you spare
me a few minutes?" he asked. "Think I'm going to have something
interesting to show you."
"Be right over," replied Ned. "Where are you?"
"In the lab."
A few minutes later young Newton had joined his friend. "What's up?"
he asked Tom as he entered.
[Illustration: "What's up?" Asked Ned]
Tom had discovered that his bendable glass mixture had cooled to a
critical temperature, making it necessary to remove it from the furnace
at once lest it be ruined. In a small secret chamber beneath his private
laboratory he had set up a sort of miniature glass works which would
have astonished any ordinary glass worker, for the young inventor had
devised an entirely new method of procedure. As to its outcome, well,
even to its inventor that feature remained in doubt.
[Illustration: A Miniature Glass Works]
"Do you think it'll work, Tom?" asked Ned Newton anxiously as he
followed the youthful scientist down the stairs. "Your experiments have
cost a mint of money already--"
"Don't croak," chuckled Tom. "I've a few pennies left, haven't I?"
"You won't have so very many after you finish with your new telescope
idea," declared Ned grimly. "And THAT certainly won't bring in any
dividends."
[Illustration: Ned Followed Tom]
"Nor is it intended to," said Tom a bit sharply. "There is, you know,
such a thing as pursuing knowledge for its own sake."
"I'm sorry. You ought to know, though, that I'm thinking only of your
interests, not of mine," he said as they reached the room below.
"Forgive me, old man!" Tom clapped Ned warmly on the back. "Don't feel
for a minute that I don't appreciate everything you've done for me. To
tell you the truth, I'm as worried about this new glass as you are.
That's why I jumped on you. Let's forget it!"
[Illustration: "Forgive Me, Old Man!"]
"Right!"
The two were standing now before the cylindrical furnace containing the
mixture of silicates and other ingredients from which Tom Swift hoped
would emerge a glass as flexible as rubber and as strong as steel. The
thermometer on the front stood at twenty-one degrees Centigrade.
[Illustration: They Looked at the Thermometer]
"She's just right," muttered the inventor, consulting a complicated
chart hanging on the wall. "Now we'll see!"
The asbestos-coated door clanged open. Tom drew out a shallow tray, the
contents of which were buried in a black powder.
"Charcoal!" he explained, setting the pan on a table. "It prevents any
rapid temperature change. Even common glass must be cooled slowly or it
becomes as brittle as peanut candy."
[Illustration: Tom Drew out a Shallow Tray]
With the aid of a wooden rod Tom pulled out a glass bar about ten
inches long and an inch thick. After picking it up carefully he examined
it closely. In no way did the object appear different from ordinary
glass.
"Well, here goes!" said the inventor and forthwith bent the bar into the
shape of a horseshoe!
"Hurrah!" yelled Ned, clapping his friend on the back. "You've done it
again, Tom Swift!"
[Illustration: He Bent the Glass]
"Don't crow too soon. Perhaps it won't bend back again. If a rod of
copper is annealed in a certain way it can be bent ONCE like rubber but
then the crystal breaks up and it becomes as rigid as ever. Maybe this
glass will act the same way."
"Then try it! Don't keep me in suspense!"
Perhaps Tom had been tantalizing his business manager, or maybe he
really was doubtful about the flexibility of the bar. At any rate, when
he applied pressure he did not seem surprised when the glass became
straight again. Then he proceeded actually to tie a knot in it, so
bendable was the new substance!
[Illustration: The Glass Became Straight Again]
"This will revolutionize the glass industry!" declared Ned, noting that
even the blows of a heavy sledge-hammer failed even so much as to crack
the rod.
"It's not half as wonderful as that other kind of glass," said Tom,
dreamily.
"Your glass eye, d'you mean?" chuckled Ned in high good humor. In his
mind he could already see fat profits for the company.
[Illustration: A Heavy Hammer Did Not Crack It]
"I'll give you a pair of black eyes if you make another bad joke!"
laughed Tom, giving his chum a playful push. "But seriously, I'm mighty
well pleased with this stuff; it turned out better than I dared hope.
You know, I got the idea for bendable glass while I was trying to figure
out a way to make a huge telescope mirror. That was before we found the
meteorite."
"And I suppose you'll go back to the glass mirror if you can't find
the big stone so you can make the large green disk."
[Illustration: "I'm Well Pleased With This."]
"Yes, that's what I'll have to do if the salvage attempt fails. But I'm
sure we'll succeed."
Captain Britten had been given a room at the Swift home. When the boys
got there they found their guest and Tom's father deep in a game of
chess.
[Illustration: The Two Men Were Playing Chess]
"Well, son," laughed Mr. Swift, "I've met my match at last. John Britten
has beaten me three straight games! But don't tell Damon about it!"
"I won't, Dad," grinned Tom. "What do you think of this?" He handed his
father the bar of bendable glass.
"What do I think of it? Why, it looks like a glass rod, that's all I can
see."
"Then watch!" Tom took the bar and deftly twisted it into the shape of a
fat pretzel.
"You've done it, son!" cried Mr. Swift. "And to think I told you such
a thing was impossible! Congratulations!"
[Illustration: "What Do You Think of This?"]
At dinner that evening the conversation turned mainly to the projected
flight to the West Indies. It was decided to start the next day at
sunrise, as Captain Britten had received word from Florida that his
barge had been made ready. A tug was getting up steam to haul it to the
Cuban coast.
[Illustration: "Congratulations!" Cried Mr. Swift]
"Mr. Damon can't go with us, Dad," said Tom. "His wife won't let him! By
the way," he added with a laugh, "she was looking up the names of all
his relatives--Mr. Damon said she was glad of the excuse to do so!--but
she could find none named Jones or Brown. So that definitely proves
those two fellows were fakes and that they merely pretended relationship
in order to pump him about my work."
After supper Ned went to his home to pack a suitcase, for he was to
spend the night at the Swifts' to be on hand for the early start that
was being planned. Tom spent the evening in his office studying the
latest available data on diving operations, and plotting the route over
which the party would travel to the coast of Cuba.
[Illustration: Ned Packed His Suitcase]
Immersed in his work, he at first paid but little attention to a
peculiar odor that gradually was pervading the atmosphere.
Suddenly he realized that something was wrong; a strange buzzing filled
his ears and the lights seemed to be growing dim. He started to get
up, but instead fell across his desk.
[Illustration: Something Was Wrong]
As Tom lay there motionless, a window opened noiselessly. Stealthily a
masked figure climbed in. After a hasty glance around the room, the
intruder hastened to the desk and leaned over the unconscious youth.
[Illustration: A Masked Figure Entered]