Tom Swift in the Caves of Nuclear Fire (16 page)

"There’s Ry in the window," Tom said, as he and the professor exchanged waves.

Suddenly Bud lay a hand on his pal’s arm.

"Tom!" he whispered. "Someone’s hiding out there!—I just caught a glimpse of movement in the brush."

Before Tom could react to this warning, a dark silhouette rose into view!

"I CAN’T believe it!" Tom cried in amazement.
"Arv!"

Hanson stumbled toward the warm greetings and round of back-slapping that awaited him. He was dirty, scratched, bruised, and bleeding, but for a moment didn’t seem to care.

Hanson said only a few words until they had all piled into the ship, and the doctor had applied antiseptic to his wounds. Then, in the lounge, he commenced his story.

"I was sitting around with the others when the men attacked," Arv said in a hoarse voice. "Everybody seemed to keel over all at once—except me. I was unaffected. But I thought it best to pretend to be knocked out, and to observe what was going to happen.

"A dozen men in uniforms came swarming in and dragged us off into the jungle, where they piled us into these rickety wooden carts with big wheels, which they pulled along by hand. After a little while they stopped—I suppose it was at that dug-out you guys mentioned—and they all went forward to pull open the camouflaged door, or something. When their backs were turned I was able to squirm out of my cart and hike off into the jungle. Nobody followed me—though from what you say, Tom, they must have eventually realized that they were one body short."

"I suppose they hoped you’d not make it back through the jungle, or that they’d eventually recapture you, so Boondah pretended to have you in custody," Tom said.

"From a hiding spot some distance away, I saw them all go into the dug-out and pull the door shut. Then everything was quiet—just me and the trees and the lions! I had no idea of what direction the
Queen
was in. So finally I just rolled up under some fallen branches to wait out the night."

"When you heard the ship flying around, you could have come out and waved your arms," Tom pointed out. "The radar would have detected a human presence down below."

"I know," said Arv sheepishly. "But as a matter of fact I fell asleep—and I’m a mighty sound sleeper!"

"Snores like a sawmill," Chow commented.

Arv concluded by saying, "I spent most of today just trying to get my bearings. Finally I caught sight of the camp."

"But why were you not affected by those grenades, I wonder?" murmured Ry Cully.

"The explanation is obvious," said Doc Simpson. "The gas must be based on the same flower extract that put Ry in a state the other evening."

"Sure!" exclaimed Bud. "Arv is still immune."

"From now on, Arv, you get lead position on our caravan," Tom joked.

After making a report of the day’s dramatic events to his father by radio, Tom joined the others in a full night of welcome sleep.

The next day a team of explorers embarked for the mountain. In the passenger cabin of the terrasphere tank were Tom, Bud, Craig, Hanson, Chow, and Mandy Akwabo. Hank Sterling piloted the tank from the turret, and Ry Cully volunteered to travel inside the descent sphere, which had been lowered into its cradle on the mobile platform and locked in place. Only Doc Simpson remained behind on the
Sky Queen.

"Do you really expect to use the sphere itself this time around?" asked Mandy.

"Perhaps not," Tom replied, "but there’s no harm in bringing it along. Eventually I’m sure we’ll need it to descend into the cave system."

"You think the source of the gas is pretty far down?" Arv inquired.

"I have it figured out," replied the young inventor, "though that doesn’t mean I’m right! I assume the ultimate source of the reaction is at sea level, because of the effect of the rising tide. Now in this area—"

Mandy interrupted. "Please, allow me to show off my expertise. For miles around, this whole region of Borukundi is somewhat elevated, a slight rise or ‘dome,’ if you will. The land rises further, in steps, as we approach Goaba; and of course the base of the mountain provides further elevation. At the taboo mountain we are really on a very shallow extension of the Massif du Chaillu, a volcanic feature of this continent, which plunges down into the Congo basin as one travels eastward."

"This is jest like bein’ in school," said Chow, fascinated. "Except I’m awake!"

"At any rate, I have estimated the distance down from the crevice to sea level to be about 2000 feet," concluded the geographer.

"2000!"
Bud exclaimed in surprise. "Tom, the cables aren’t nearly long enough!"

Tom chuckled. "Don’t worry, flyboy. We’re not lowering the sphere from the crevice, but from the end of that cave, which is already many hundreds of feet below the surface."

With a promise from Tom that they would all be able to take a turn in the descent sphere before the
Sky Queen
departed for Shopton, Chow and Craig had agreed to serve as guards while Tom and the others ventured into the cave.

"Remember," Tom instructed, as they reached the entrance—now a broad fissure with sides like a bowl—and the two men stood up to get out, "keep your radiationproof suits on at all times. And if we’re not back in four hours, get away from here. We may have drilled through the wall by that time. According to my tide table, the gas should appear about then. Despite the Inertite coating on your suits, this place won’t be fit for man or beast."

"But what about you?" Craig asked soberly. "You’ll be much closer to the source."

"I don’t expect anything to happen, of course," Tom replied. "But if we
are
delayed, we have our own antirad gear, and the terrasphere tank with its fresh coat of Inertite will provide double protection."

Wishing the explorers luck, Chow and Craig climbed down to the ground and Ry joined the rest in the passenger cabin. Those outside waved goodbye and Tom, trading places with Hank Sterling, drove the terrasphere into the cave. He switched on the spotlight and the vehicle moved ahead slowly.

The tank had gone only a hundred feet when Bud made a discovery. "Look! On the left-hand wall! Someone’s been digging in the rock since we were here!" He immediately intercommed the control dome.

Tom stopped. Bud and Hank climbed out and searched the spot. The evidence was unmistakable. Large chunks of rock had been dug from the wall. The two young men stepped back into the cabin and informed Tom of their findings.

"We have to be on extra alert if there are others in this cave," Tom said. He threw the tank into gear, and Terry resumed her rumbling downward journey. But they had proceeded onward less than a minute when a huge shock nearly swept the vehicle onto its side!

"Dynamite,"
intercommed Tom when the supergyros had steadied the platform and the echoes had faded away. "I’m sure of it!"

"Hoplin and pals have boobytrapped the cave!" Bud cried heatedly. "They must be planning a cave-in to stop us!"

"Why that’s murder!" gasped Ry.

"They don’t realize a few things, though," said Tom over the speaker. "First, we’ve found that the antiproton effect has somehow made the molecular structure of the rock extremely rigid—a phenomenon I’d like to study. It won’t be easy for a few dynamite sticks to set off a cave-in. Second, Terry is built to withstand bad shocks."

"And third, they haven’t reckoned with Swift stubbornness!" chortled Bud.

There were no further explosions, and presently the tank arrived at the terminus of the glowing cave, the rock wall that had stopped them before. The crew unstrapped and unloaded the refurbished earth blaster, positioning it to bore into the barrier. Then, backing several score feet up the tunnel, Tom sent the signal to activate the machine. This time, the earth blaster functioned without interference!

"Your new coating technique is quite a success, Tom," congratulated Hank.

An hour passed with all the team watching the monitoring instruments. All were working perfectly.

Stopping the machine periodically, Tom carefully examined the soil and each type of mineral as it spewed back from the drill-head, discussing it with Ry Cully. Eventually the blaster unearthed a layer of white, glazed rock. According to the instruments, the original cave at this point narrowed to only a fraction of an inch in width.

Intrigued by the sudden change in rock formation, Tom drilled more rapidly. The glazed layer proved to be only two feet thick. "But it’s taking forever to drill through," Tom pronounced over his radsuit communicator, as he stood outside the tank with the others. "The hardness effect is especially strong here."

"You must be very near your goal," commented Mandy.

Seconds later the cables trailing behind the blaster jerked forward in a series of staccato moves. "We’ve broken through!" he called out happily.

But then as the blaster bored ahead, an overpowering force suddenly gripped it. The cables, control housing, and instruments were yanked forward into the narrow hole made by the machine. Every instrument was smashed against the rocks and shattered.

With a shout of alarm Tom rushed forward and began pulling on the cables, helped by the others. The cables came up far too easily—finally revealing ends that were broken off and hanging empty.

"The earth blaster is gone!" Tom cried. Then, as a panicky thought struck him, he bellowed, "Everyone—
run for your lives!"

THE EXPEDITIONERS turned as one and raced for the shelter of the tank. Once inside, they gazed toward the opening in the rock barrier that the earth blaster had made. The inside of the tubelike passage reflected a flickering reddish-gold light.

"Guess my fears were unfounded," said Tom a little sheepishly after checking some detector instruments. "I thought I might have released a pocket of the gas powerful enough to disintegrate the blaster."

Nevertheless, the crew waited for half an hour before venturing outside again. As they waited, Bud asked Tom what he thought had happened.

"I believe the earth blaster was sucked through past that layer of glazed rock," the young inventor replied.

"Sucked into the ground?" Mandelia asked in astonishment. "But how could that happen?"

"There’s only one logical explanation," said Tom. "I must have bored into a large vacuum area. The crevice tunnel probably opens into a great underground pit with the tidal river at the bottom. When we broke through the wall, the outside air rushed through the opening. As a result, the earth blaster went with it." He added that the abrupt stresses on the flex-points of the cables and feed tubes had probably cracked the Inertite layer, exposing the material underneath to disintegration from residual antiprotons.

"If there is such a central chamber," said Hank, "do you figure it adjoins the cave?"

"Yes," Tom replied. "Tomorrow we’ll go all the way to the end of this cave with the terrasphere tank. If we do find a pit beyond that barrier, I want to take a ride down into it in the sphere." But first, he added, they had hours of work before them as they labored to enlarge the opening made by the earth blaster.

"With the blaster gone, I don’t see how it can be done," said Arv, discouraged. "Especially with that white glaze being as hard as it seems to be."

"Actually, it may not be as difficult as you think," said Tom mysteriously. "Nature may give us a hand."

They worked for another hour with picks and shovels and handheld drilling equipment. But as they piled back into the tank, Tom admitted that they had made scant progress.

"I’ve left an Inertite-coated sensor in the opening, which will send us a signal when the gas appears," Tom noted.

The tank was turned about and Terry made her way back up the great underground ramp to the surface. As they finally emerged into the open, the explorers were surprised to find that a dark gray sky awaited them.

"A storm coming in," said Mandy with concern in her voice. "They can be quite fierce."

"I’m more concerned about our guards," Tom said. There was no sign of Chow or Craig at the entrance.

A panic seized Tom and the others. There was no reason for the men to have left there posts, unless there had been foul play!

Tom switched on Terry’s external loudspeaker and called out Chow’s and Craig’s names.

"Hoplin must have managed to surprise them," Bud declared tensely. "That, or—"

"Or what?" asked Professor Cully.

"Let’s just say it might have been an inside job," Bud finished.

Tom frowned at Bud, but did not comment. He opened the hatch in the passenger cabin.

Immediately they were assailed by shouts from two different directions. For a fleeting second the travelers tensed for a raid. Then smiles of relief spread over their faces. From behind a massive rock on the slope above emerged the plump figure of Chow in his antirad suit, and Craig came out from behind an outcropping down below them.

"You had us worried!" Tom cried out. "Thought you’d been kidnapped!"

"Naw, boss," said Chow. "Jest a little bit o’ strategy." He and Benson explained that not long after the tank had entered the tunnel, the enemy plane had flown low over them, circling twice before moving on northward.

"When we first heard the buzz of the engine, we got out of sight," Craig explained. "Even after the plane left, we figured staying in hiding might be a good idea."

Tom then described the underground boobytrap and the loss of the earth blaster.

"Genius boy here thinks we won’t need it after all," said Bud skeptically. "Guess the trolls and gnomes are going to finish the dig for us."

"Are trolls and gnomes native to this part of the world?" asked Arv jokingly.

"Africa has everything!" Mandy answered.

The team all returned to the comfort of the terrasphere tank. They drove a quarter-mile away into the brush, then pitched camp for the night, inflating a pair of balloon-like plastic tents to sleep in. Working inside Terry’s passenger cabin Tom jotted down notes and made a list of figures. Only when the last streaks of a blood-red sunset had faded from the angry, overcast sky did he interrupt his work. The young inventor lay down on the cushions in the cabin and fell asleep almost instantly, to the sound of the restless wind.