AN ELECTRICAL CHRISTENING
"What are you talking about, Chow?" Tom asked, turning to the old
Westerner in amazement.
Chow related how he had dropped the bubble gum inside the robot's head.
"Did I ruin the critter?" he asked fearfully.
Tom was thoughtful for a moment, frowning as they watched Ole Think Box
continue its gyrations. The figure seemed to be calming down somewhat,
although Tom could not be sure of this.
Suddenly his face brightened. A new thought had just struck the young
inventor! To Chow's amazement, Tom slapped the cook happily on the back.
"I think you've done me a favor, Chow!" he exclaimed.
"I have?" The old Texan stared at his young boss, as if not sure whether
or not to believe him. "How come?"
"You saw how Ole Think Box reacted to the gum," Tom explained. "That
shows the energy really is like a brain! It's responsive and sensitive
to conditions of its environment, especially when coming up against
something new and unexpected."
"You mean they don't have bubble gum on Planet X?" Chow asked with a
grin.
Tom smiled as Bud said, "This means we should be able to communicate
with it."
"And the brain will probably be able to communicate back to us!" Tom
went on excitedly. "We may even be able to learn about Planet X!"
As he spoke, Ole Think Box's whirling became slower and slower. Finally
it came to rest close to the three humans.
"What do you suppose happened to the gum?" Bud asked. "Did he chew it
all up?"
"It's probably unchanged," Tom replied. "Our visitor is used to it now."
Chow was still wide-eyed with awe. He stared at the strange creature as
if expecting it to snap at him in revenge for the gum.
"Don't worry, old-timer. Think Box won't bite," Bud teased. "With that
gum spree, he's just been initiated into our American tribal customs!"
The pilot grinned. "Hey! We haven't given him a proper name."
"You're right." Tom looked at his pal and chuckled. "Got any ideas?"
"Hmm. Let me see." Bud scowled and paced about with his hands clasped
behind his back. "Firetop--John Q. Pyro--"
"But it ain't on fire now," Chow pointed out.
"Maybe not, but he sure blazed a trail getting here," Bud argued.
Tom and Chow countered with several ideas of their own, but nothing
seemed suitable until Bud suddenly stopped short and snapped his
fingers.
"I have it! He's a visitor from Planet X, so let's call him _Exman!_"
Bud spelled it out.
"Perfect!" Tom was delighted and Chow agreed that it seemed "a right
good monicker." The Texan insisted seriously that if the creature were
going to be named, he should also have a proper christening.
"Why not?" Tom agreed, as both boys broke into laughter. Bud also liked
the idea.
Chow had a troublesome afterthought. He shoved back his sombrero,
squinted frowningly at the brain container, and scratched his bald head.
"For boat christenings and statues and what not, you break bottles on
'em or cut ribbons or pull a sheet off 'em," the cook said. "But how in
tarnation do you christen a buckaroo from space?"
"Nothing to it, Chow," Tom assured him. "We'll do the job up nice and
fancy with a display of electricity. But first let's get Exman over to
the lab."
The three loaded the energy container into the pickup truck which had
brought it to the hillside spot. Then Tom drove back to Enterprises and
they took Exman into his private laboratory.
Here Tom attached an electrode to each side of the star head. One
electrode was safely grounded, the other connected to a Tesla coil.
Then, with all lights turned off in the laboratory, Tom threw a switch.
Instantly a dazzling arc of electricity sputtered through the darkness
across the creature's head! The eerie display lit up the room with such
impressive effect that both Bud and Chow felt their spines tingle.
"I christen you Exman!" Tom intoned.
For several moments he allowed the fiery arc to continue playing about
the star head. Then he opened the power switch and turned the room
lights back on.
"Wow! Quite a ceremony!" Bud murmured.
"After a send-off like that, I'll be expectin' the critter to do great
things here on this lil ole planet Earth!" Chow declared fervently.
"You could be right," Tom said.
Worn out by the long wait for their visitor from Planet X and the
excitement following his arrival, Chow finally went off to his own
quarters at Enterprises for a well-earned sleep.
"Guess you and I had better get some shut-eye too, pal," Tom told Bud.
"And I think I won't tell Dad until morning."
[Illustration (Tom, Bud and Chow celebrate building Exman)]
The two boys decided to bunk on cots in the small apartment adjoining
Tom's laboratory. Exman, meanwhile, was left locked in the laboratory
with a tiny "night light" showing on him.
"Just a little ray of energy to keep him company," Tom explained with a
chuckle.
Minutes later, the two boys were sound asleep. For a while, all was
silent. Then the apartment's telephone rang, shattering the stillness.
Tom struggled out of the depths of sleep, got up, and groped his way
over to the wall phone.
"Tom Swift Jr. speaking."
A familiar voice asked, "Did it come?"
"Oh, hi, Dad!" Tom replied, yawning. "Yes, Exman arrived in fine shape.
We've put him to bed. Tell you all about it tomorrow morning."
"Okay, Tom."
As Tom hung up, Bud roused and switched on a lamp. He had awakened in
time to catch only part of Tom's words. "Your father?" he inquired.
Tom nodded sleepily and was about to go back to bed. But Bud, still
fascinated by the space visitor, decided to have a peek at Exman. He got
up and opened the door to the laboratory. A yell from him brought Tom
rushing to his side.
"Hey! It's gone!"
The spot by the night light where they had left Exman was now deserted!
Tom found a wall switch and pressed it. As light from the overhead
fluorescent tubes flooded the room, the boys gave laughing cries of
relief.
Ole Think Box had merely moved himself to another corner of the room!
"Guess he didn't like that little chum we left on for him," Bud said
with a chuckle.
"Let's leave him where he is," Tom agreed.
The two boys went back to the adjoining apartment and were soon asleep
again. Several hours later they were rudely awakened by a loud crash of
glass and a heavy thud.
"Something's happening to Exman!" Tom cried.
With Bud at his heels, the young inventor dashed into the laboratory.