More people came streaming in, attracted by the chef's cries and gesticulations. Some were bewildered, a few frightened. Others were laughing, thinking the whole thing a joke. The scene was rapidly taking on the proportions of a riot!
"It—it's the truth, boss!" Chow stammered3, mopping his brow with a huge red bandanna4. "Why, sufferin' rattlesnakes, didn't I hear 'em spoutin' their space lingo5 with my own ears?"
"You heard what?" Bud said.
"Spoutin' space talk!" the cook repeated. "It come right over the loud-speaker in the galley6! They was chitter-chatterin' plottin' to blow us all to smithereens!"
"That's a fact! We heard it, too!" one of the workmen chimed in.
Tom and Bud looked at each other blankly. Then suddenly Tom's eyes kindled8 with a dawning suspicion. Whirling around, he rushed over to inspect the public-address outlet9 on the wall.
Meanwhile, Mr. Swift had just driven in through the main gate of Enterprises. "What's going on?" he asked the guard at the gate, noting the excited hubbub10 around Tom's laboratory.
"Don't rightly know, sir," the guard replied. "I was wondering myself. I know it sounds crazy, but I thought I heard someone yelling there was going to be a space attack."
Mr. Swift's eyebrows11 lifted in amazement12. Without further discussion, he stepped on the accelerator and sped off along the paved drive. Seconds later, his car braked to a stop near Tom Jr.'s private laboratory. The scientist jumped out and made his way through the milling crowd.
"What's going on?" Mr. Swift stared in astonishment13 at Tom and Bud, who were both doubled up with laughter.
"A scrambled14 radio alert, Dad," Tom gasped15 between chuckles16. "Chow thought some Martian monsters were invading us, and sort of pushed the panic button."
The Texan blushed as Tom explained what had happened. Realizing Chow's embarrassment17, Tom tried to make his mistake sound understandable.
Apparently18 the power line to the ion-drive control board had somehow picked up the boys' scrambled conversation underwater. The signal had been transferred by inductance in the wall wiring and amplified19 over the public-address system.
"Our wall mike was on," Tom added, "and it probably picked up some of the sound waves from the tank. Anyhow," he concluded, slapping the cook affectionately on the back, "I'm sure glad we have a wide-awake hombre like Chow in the outfit20. It wouldn't be the first time he's saved our necks!"
"I have some news of my own," Mr. Swift announced with a smile as the room cleared. "But I'm afraid it'll sound pretty tame compared to a space attack."
"Let's hear it, Dad," Tom said eagerly.
"I've been conducting some experiments with those space plants," the elder scientist said. "It looks as though they may prove to be a valuable nutritional23 source."
The plants, Mr. Swift went on, showed promise of producing enormous amounts of protein quickly and cheaply—enough to increase the world's food supply by a sizable margin24. Moreover, he had isolated25 a vitamin in this protein not found in any of man's present foods.
"Doc Simpson has been working with me," Mr. Swift concluded. "He has been doing some experiments of his own with a vitamin extract from the space plants. He thinks it may prove highly beneficial to human beings."
Tom was thrilled, and even Bud realized that Mr. Swift's cautious report could well turn out to be of history-making importance.
"I'd say your news makes a phony space attack look pretty tame, Dad," Tom said, his eyes flashing enthusiastically. "With the earth's population increasing, this could be the answer to the food problem."
"Don't tell Chow," Bud added, "or we may find spaceburgers on the next menu!"
The Swifts chuckled26. Chow's hobby of concocting27 weird28 dishes was a standing29 joke at Enterprises, and already had led to such dubious30 triumphs as armadillo stew31 and rattlesnake soup.
Monday morning Tom buckled32 down seriously to the job of designing an undetectable sub. His drawing board was littered with sketches33 and diagrams when the phone rang, breaking in on his thoughts. Tom answered it with a scowl34 of impatience35. The caller was Lester Morris.
"Could you meet me at the yacht club to talk over the dance program?" Morris asked.
Tom hesitated. For Sandy's and Phyl's sakes he was eager to do everything possible to make the square dance a success. But on the other hand....
"I'm pretty busy today," Tom said. "But my sister and my friend Bud Barclay can tell you what we want—probably better than I can. Suppose I ask them to meet you there after lunch?"
There was a slight pause. "Very well," Morris agreed, although he sounded a bit annoyed.
After hanging up, Tom phoned Bud and asked him to keep the appointment. Bud was only too happy to oblige, jumping at the chance to take Sandy out to lunch beforehand.
At one o'clock the husky young pilot and his date strolled into the yacht club lounge. Lester Morris was nowhere in sight, so they sat down to wait. Twenty minutes later the musician still had not appeared.
"I hope he hasn't forgotten," Sandy said, glancing at her wrist watch.
"If he's a square-dance caller, his memory ought to be extra good," Bud joked. "Fine thing if he can't even remember the time of day!"
After waiting a while longer, Bud decided36 to telephone Morris's home. But at that moment a thin, seedy-looking man came into the lounge. His close-set eyes and loudly striped suit combined to give him a somewhat disreputable appearance.
"Good grief! Len Unger!" Sandy whispered. "What does he want with us?"
Unger was walking straight toward them. Both Bud and Sandy had met him occasionally around town and found him obnoxious37.
"Sorry, but Morris got tied up," Unger informed them. "He sent me to talk to you."
Sandy's blue eyes met Bud's in a flicker38 of distaste, but she tried to conceal39 her feelings. "Please sit down," she invited Unger politely. "What square-dance numbers does Mr. Morris do?"
"But, my goodness," Sandy said, puzzled, "how do we know he'll have the squares I name?"
Unger stared at her as if he did not quite understand. "You mean, can he call off the dances you want? If he can't, I'll let you know."
"Does he do patter calls or singing calls?" Bud put in.
Again Unger hesitated, then said, "Both."
"Wonderful!" Sandy exclaimed gleefully. "I thought he only did singing calls." After a moment's thought, she went on, "Well, let's see. What about 'Birdie in the Cage'?... And 'The Gal7 from Arkansas' ... 'Uptown and Downtown'...."
Unger jotted41 the names on the back of an envelope. Pausing a moment, he remarked, "Guess your brother was too busy to make it today, eh, Miss Swift? What kind of ex-spearmints is he working on now?"
"I really couldn't say," Sandy replied coldly. She always made it a point not to discuss Tom Jr.'s or her father's research work with outsiders.
Unger persisted chattily, "I read where he handled that Jupiter probe shoot for the Navy."
"Let's get back to square dancing," snapped Bud. As he and Sandy finished planning the program, Len Unger continued to drop remarks and questions about "The Great Tom Swift" and his inventions. All prying42 queries43 were side-stepped.
As soon as possible Sandy and Bud cut short the conversation and left the yacht club. Unger's face wore an angry sneer44 as they walked out.
"What a creep!" Bud said, when he and Sandy were driving back in his red convertible45.
Meanwhile, in his private laboratory at Enterprises, Tom was somewhat discouraged. He had tried several different experimental attacks on the problem of an undetectable submarine. None had worked out successfully.
"I thought that idea of a sonar-wave baffle might lead somewhere," he murmured, "but it looks as though I'm wrong."
Flopping46 down on a stool at his workbench, Tom cupped his chin in his hands. He was frowning, deep in thought, as the pudgy figure of Chow Winkler came into the laboratory.
"'Smatter, boss?" the cook inquired cheerfully. "Ain't your ole think box workin' today?"
"Doesn't seem to be," Tom confessed.
"Give it time, son. Tomorrow's another day," Chow said philosophically47. "What you need is a haircut for the square dance."
Tom laughed in spite of himself. "Maybe you're right, Chow. Might help me think better."
Tom got off the stool and stretched out the kinks in his legs. He strolled outside with Chow, then scootered to the parking lot and hopped48 into his sleek49, silver sports car.
A moment later he was whizzing off in the direction of Shopton. Nearing town, Tom turned off on a side-road short cut. He noticed in his mirror that a truck behind him also turned off.
He pulled over sharply, motioning the truck to pass. Instead, to Tom's surprise, it closed in straight behind him. The next moment, Tom saw a port open below the truck's hood51 and a strange-looking device pop out on a springlike steel cable.
Tom stepped on the accelerator, trying to pull free. The truck at once swerved53 off the road, steering54 around a utility pole. As the cable tautened, there was a sickening screech55 of metal and the sports car was brought to a crashing halt!
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1
din
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| n.喧闹声，嘈杂声 | |
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2
squint
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| v. 使变斜视眼, 斜视, 眯眼看, 偏移, 窥视; n. 斜视, 斜孔小窗; adj. 斜视的, 斜的 | |
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3
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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bandanna
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| n.大手帕 | |
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lingo
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| n.语言不知所云，外国话，隐语 | |
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6
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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gal
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| n.姑娘，少女 | |
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kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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outlet
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| n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄 | |
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hubbub
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| n.嘈杂；骚乱 | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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15
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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chuckles
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的名词复数 ) | |
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embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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amplified
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| 放大，扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 )； 增强； 详述 | |
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outfit
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| n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装 | |
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perked
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| （使）活跃( perk的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）增值； 使更有趣 | |
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22
reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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nutritional
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| adj.营养的，滋养的 | |
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margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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concocting
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| v.将（尤指通常不相配合的）成分混合成某物( concoct的现在分词 )；调制；编造；捏造 | |
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28
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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dubious
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| adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的 | |
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stew
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| n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑 | |
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32
buckled
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| a. 有带扣的 | |
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sketches
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| n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概 | |
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scowl
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| vi.(at)生气地皱眉，沉下脸，怒视；n.怒容 | |
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impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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obnoxious
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| adj.极恼人的，讨人厌的，可憎的 | |
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38
flicker
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| vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现 | |
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39
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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40
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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41
jotted
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| v.匆忙记下( jot的过去式和过去分词 )；草草记下，匆匆记下 | |
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42
prying
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| adj.爱打听的v.打听，刺探（他人的私事）( pry的现在分词 )；撬开 | |
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43
queries
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| n.问题( query的名词复数 )；疑问；询问；问号v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的第三人称单数 )；询问 | |
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44
sneer
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| v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语 | |
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45
convertible
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| adj.可改变的，可交换，同意义的；n.有活动摺篷的汽车 | |
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46
flopping
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| n.贬调v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的现在分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅 | |
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47
philosophically
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| adv.哲学上；富有哲理性地；贤明地；冷静地 | |
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48
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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49
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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50
pal
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| n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友 | |
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51
hood
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| n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖 | |
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52
bumper
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| n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的 | |
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53
swerved
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| v.（使）改变方向，改变目的( swerve的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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screech
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| n./v.尖叫；(发出)刺耳的声音 | |
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groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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