Tom Swift and His Megascope Space Prober by Victor Appleton II Read Free Book Online Page A

like, and puttin’ them up t’auction, so t’ speak."
    "Such as my translimator plans?"
    "Plucked ’em right out of your laser beam."
    "But how could they manage such a thing?" Tom demanded incredulously.
    "Same way they been keepin’ an eye on you, Tom," Pike replied. "And that happens t’be why we’re speakin’ here right now."
    "They stole a completed prototype from the Defense Department," interjected Van Arkyn. "It’s something vital to national security, and at large in the world it’s extremely dangerous."
    "A weapon of some kind?" Tom asked, thinking of the ray device.
    But Asa Pike should his head. "Nope, young feller. Not in the way you’re a-thinkin’. It’s a flying remote-control spy drone, t’ put it plain. They call it—your gov’mint likes nicknames too, y’know!—the Eyeballer." He held up a piece of paper before the camera lens. "Here’s a rough sketch, fer you and anybody else who might be cuttin’ in on us."
    The object in the picture was shaped something like a starfish, with a disklike center. "This sketch shows it top view. Can’t show you the side, because they ain’t no side, Tom. It’s about as thin as a playin’ card! Stealth sort o’ thing, they call it. Hard to pick up on radar."
    "I understand," Tom said. "Like the stealth bomber. How big is it?"
    Pike grinned. "Oh, let’s see now. About this big, I’d say." He held up a hand, fingers spread.
    "Good grief!" gasped the young inventor. "The miniaturization must be― "
    "You can see why the Pentagon is most anxious to have it back in our possession," declared the congressman. "The prototype itself, the plans and any copies of them, and the perpetrators."
    "Of course!" said Tom. "Who are the suspects?"
    "Not so sure," said Pike. "Not so sure as we’d care to tell you what we’re thinking, that is."
    "Are you saying this device has something to do with the attacks on me?"
    "Purt sure on that one," Asa Pike confirmed. "See now, one thing about the Eyeballer is how fast she moves—about Mach Four! Gets there from cruise speed in jest a handful of seconds. So one day, let’s say, they have it flying up over Swift Enterprises, watching who’s coming and going, eyeing—fer example—Tom Swift’s little bronze car as it goes a-toolin’ down the road. Mighty nice if you want t’ set up an ambush.
    "Or mebbe you keep an eye on the communication antennas and that laser do-jiggy up on the roof, waitin’ to see when she fires up. Always have t’ send out a few test pulses before y’start in with the message, am I right? Which gives the Eyeballer plenty o’ time to zip on into line, catch the ray, then send it on agin almost b’fore you know it."
    "The perfect spy machine," pronounced Tom. "They must have had it trail the jet the other day, all the way to Washington."
    "Say!—must have at that. So, they do what they can t’spy on where you go for your meeting, and then when you leave they fly it out underneath you and shoot that freezer thingy o’ theirs—stolen from th’ Germans, if you want t’know—right up your belly."
    "Then they don’t have a tight-focus long range model after all," Tom muttered. "They just get up close with a miniature model, hand held or mounted on the Eyeballer. But why wouldn’t they have used the drone yesterday to attack the jetrocopter? The trees wouldn’t have blocked something like that."
    Pike winked conspiratorially. "Now that , son, is what I’d call a very good question. Almost makes ye wonder if somethin’ else was a-goin’ on with that note you got."
    "Do you know the answer?"
    "Nope. Lots else, as you kin see. Not that’n, though."
    Van Arkyn said, "The Eyeballer is coated with that antidetection sheathing you Swifts came up with, and has holograph emulators—like little TV screens, they say—all over its surface, causing it to blend in with the background like a chameleon. We built it, but haven’t a clue as to how to detect it out in the field. We’re hoping you