Bud began groping his way upward just as Tom came alongside of him. Tom grabbed him as best he could, hooking onto his belt. At the same time, the young inventor inhaled5 deeply, yanked out Bud's useless mouthpiece, and inserted his own in its place.
"We'll have to get topside fast," Tom thought, "even though it means risking the bends."
He stroked upward and they shot toward the surface. Bud assisted to some extent, partly revived by the gulp7 of air.
As they rose, fathom8 by fathom, their progress seemed to grow maddeningly slower. Tom had to let air bubbles escape constantly from his mouth. As the pressure decreased, due to the lessening9 depth of the water, the air in his lungs expanded and he was forced to breathe out.
Tom noticed with dismay that Bud was not responding very well, his feeble strokes were jerky and uncoordinated. "Must've lost pressure too fast when his tank was hit," Tom realized.
The water was growing greener and brighter now as they neared the sunshine. The Sea Hound's shadowy outline loomed10 just above. With a last desperate burst of strength, Tom lunged upward and they broke water.
There was no need for the cry. Hank and his crew, on the seacopter's forward deck, had already grasped the situation. Strong arms reached out and hauled the two boys aboard.
The boys' masks were ripped off. Within moments, Bud had been tightly secured to the sling, which was reeled back up into the plane. Tom followed in a few minutes. Doc Simpson took charge of the patients immediately. After a quick examination, he had the boys placed in a small decompression chamber14 in the Sky Queen's sick bay.
"How are they?" Hank asked anxiously as he peered through the window of the chamber. The medic had given Bud a sedative15 and he was already fast asleep. Tom remained awake.
"Aside from the pain, not in too bad shape," Doc Simpson replied.
It turned out that Tom's case was not so serious, but Bud had to stay in bed. With Tom, it was only a matter of decompression and he soon was up and about.
Chow, in a chef's cap, with an apron16 around his paunchy stomach, had come stomping17 in hastily from the galley18. "Pore lil ole boys," he fussed. "Brand my snorkel19, I never should've let you young'uns go pokin' around down below there without me around to keep an eye on things!"
Tom slapped the loyal old Texan on the back. "If you want a dive, come along."
"You're goin' back down?" Chow asked.
"In the seacopter," Tom replied. "To find out, if possible, who fired that projectile at us."
"Then count me in!" Chow declared, stripping off his apron. "I just hope I get my hands on them sneakin' polecats!"
Slim Davis would pilot the Sky Queen back to Shopton at once, because of Bud. Tom and Chow, meanwhile, would join Hank and his crew aboard the Sea Hound.
Ten minutes later the sleek20 seacopter, its searchlight off to avoid detection, was plummeting21 downward through water that changed before their eyes from greenish blue to a deep-gray gloom. Iridescent22 fish darted23 past the cabin window.
"Think the enemy sub was searching for our Jupiter prober?" Hank asked.
"It must have been," Tom reasoned.
Hank frowned. "Which means they must have figured out the missile's position as fast as our side did."
"And they'll play rough to stop us from finding it," Arv added forebodingly.
Within moments, the group clustered in the pilot's cabin felt a gentle bump as the Sea Hound settled on the submerged plateau. Tom relaxed at the controls but kept the rotors going so the craft would remain submerged. Meanwhile, the sonarman was probing the surrounding waters.
"Any pings?" Tom asked.
The man shook his head without taking his eyes from the sonarscope. "Nothing yet."
Hank Sterling24 donned a hydrophone headset and listened intently. The silence deepened in the Sea Hound's cabin. Suddenly Hank stiffened25 and the sonarman cried out:
"A blip, skipper! At two o'clock!"
"Good night! It's another missile!" Tom gasped.
He darted back to the controls and gunned the reverse jets just in time! The missile flashed across their bow.
"Great bellowin' longhorns!" Chow gasped weakly. His leathery face had gone pale under its tan. "The yellow-livered drygulchers!"
"I don't get it," Arv Hanson spoke27 up. "If they're in firing range, we should have detected them, shouldn't we?"
Tom nodded grimly. "Whoever our enemies are, they must have perfected a way to make themselves invisible to underwater detection.
"And we'll have to do the same!" he vowed28 inwardly. Aloud, Tom said, "I hate to run from those sneaks29, but if we stick around, we'll be asking for trouble."
Slowing the rotors to permit the craft to rise, Tom guided the Sea Hound back to the surface. Then he reversed blade pitch for air flight and gunned the atomic turbines. The seacopter rose steeply above the billowing South Atlantic.
Tom radioed a terse30 report of their experience to the task-force commander and in turn was told that none of the naval31 craft had either sighted or picked up any sign of a strange sub.
As they streaked32 homeward, Chow was still fuming33. "Why don't we post a dummy34 sub there to scare off the varmints?"
"I'll pass the idea along to the Navy," Tom said with a grin.
Night had fallen when the searchers arrived back at Fearing Island. Tom cleared with the tower and landed, then went by jeep to base headquarters. He called Enterprises and learned that Bud's condition was improved, and that Mr. Swift had returned that afternoon. He spoke to him about the mystery sub.
"This is bad news indeed, son," Mr. Swift said, after hearing how the attacker had defied detection. "You'd better inform Admiral Walter. He had to fly back to Washington."
"I'll call him right away," Tom promised.
The admiral was equally disturbed when Tom succeeded in reaching him. "We must find that missile as soon as possible—at any cost," he said. "Tom, you Swifts have had considerable experience in undersea dredging. Could you send a team of engineers to assist us in the work?"
"Yes, sir," the young inventor replied. "I'll assign men to the job first thing tomorrow."
After hanging up, Tom hopped35 back to the mainland with Chow in a Pigeon Special. This sleek little commercial plane was manufactured by the Swift Construction Company in charge of Ned Newton.
Early the next morning Tom and his father drove to Enterprises, and the young inventor plunged36 into the job of organizing an engineering crew for the missile hunt. Art Wiltessa, a crack underwater specialist as well as engineer, was placed in charge.
By noon the group had taken off for the South Atlantic in a Swift cargo37 jet. A small portable model of Tom's atomic earth blaster was included in their equipment. A jetmarine and a diving seacopter were also dispatched from Fearing to assist in the operations.
"It's apt to be a long-drawn-out job—and dangerous," commented Mr. Swift as he lunched with Tom in their office.
Mr. Swift's deep-set blue eyes took on a thoughtful gleam. "Speaking of silt, son, I've found the ideal spot for my secret deep-sea farm."
"You mean for growing those plants you use in making Tomasite?" Tom asked.
The elder scientist nodded. Tomasite, a revolutionary plastic which Mr. Swift had developed, possessed39 amazing insulating properties against both heat and radiation. One of its secret ingredients came from certain plants found only in Far Eastern waters. Mr. Swift hoped to transplant them locally.
"The site is near Fearing Island—about fifty feet in depth," he added.
"You may have a tough time finding gardeners, Dad," Tom pointed40 out. "Men can't work that far down for very long at one time."
"It'll be a problem," Mr. Swift conceded. He finished his coffee, then looked up with a twinkle in his eyes. "How about figuring out a solution for me, Tom?"
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1
plight
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| n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定 | |
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projectile
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| n.投射物，发射体；adj.向前开进的；推进的；抛掷的 | |
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3
stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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4
surmised
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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5
inhaled
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| v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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7
gulp
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| vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽 | |
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8
fathom
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| v.领悟，彻底了解 | |
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9
lessening
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| 减轻，减少，变小 | |
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10
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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11
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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12
writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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13
sling
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| vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓 | |
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14
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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15
sedative
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| adj.使安静的，使镇静的；n. 镇静剂，能使安静的东西 | |
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apron
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| n.围裙；工作裙 | |
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stomping
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| v.跺脚，践踏，重踏( stomp的现在分词 ) | |
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18
galley
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| n.（飞机或船上的）厨房单层甲板大帆船；军舰舰长用的大划艇； | |
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19
snorkel
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| n.泳者所戴的通气管，潜水艇的吸、排气装置 | |
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20
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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21
plummeting
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| v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的现在分词 ) | |
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22
iridescent
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| adj.彩虹色的，闪色的 | |
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23
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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24
sterling
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| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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25
stiffened
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| 加强的 | |
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26
streaking
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| n.裸奔（指在公共场所裸体飞跑）v.快速移动( streak的现在分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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27
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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28
vowed
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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29
sneaks
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| abbr.sneakers (tennis shoes) 胶底运动鞋（网球鞋）v.潜行( sneak的第三人称单数 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状 | |
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terse
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| adj.(说话，文笔)精炼的，简明的 | |
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31
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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32
streaked
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| adj.有条斑纹的，不安的v.快速移动( streak的过去式和过去分词 )；使布满条纹 | |
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33
fuming
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| 愤怒( fume的现在分词 )； 大怒； 发怒； 冒烟 | |
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34
dummy
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| n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头 | |
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35
hopped
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| 跳上[下]( hop的过去式和过去分词 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花 | |
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36
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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37
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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38
silt
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| n.淤泥，淤沙，粉砂层，泥沙层；vt.使淤塞；vi.被淤塞 | |
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39
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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40
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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41
intrigued
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| adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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