Part 5 (1/2)
Ted shook his head. ”This time the caller gave no name, but I'm sure the voice wasn't Hamps.h.i.+re's.”
”What did he say?” Mr. Swift asked.
”He asked me if I was going to co-operate with Hamps.h.i.+re,” Ted replied.
”When I told him no, he became furious and said, 'If you don't, your life won't be worth a plugged nickel!' ”
Bud broke the tense silence that followed. ”Ted, it looks as if the only safe place for you will be the s.p.a.ce outpost-or the moon!”
Mrs. Swift, with her usual motherly concern, had a more practical suggestion.
”Ted, why not stay here for the time being? We have plenty of room, and you'll be protected by our warning system!”
This system, devised by Tom and his father,
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maintained a magnetic field around the Swift house and grounds. Anyone entering the field, unless wearing a special deactivator mechanism, triggered off an alarm inside the house.
”That's very kind of you, Mrs. Swift,” Ted replied, ”but Mother and Ray may be in danger too. I wouldn't want to leave them alone.”
”Before we decide anything,” Tom put in, ”let me call Harlan Ames. He was to be at the plant tonight.”
Tom hurried to the Swifts' second telephone, a private wire to Enterprises.
When the security chief heard what had happened, he suggested that Ted stay at Enterprises, which was guarded by a tight security setup, and that his family be flown by helicopter to Ames's private cottage on Blue-jay Lake.
”There's plenty of frozen and canned food there,” he explained, ”and they'll be perfectly safe. The spot is accessible only by plane.”
”Good deal, Harlan!” Tom concurred. ”Thanks a million.”
Ted agreed at once to Ames's suggestion and suggested that he call his mother at once.
”Better not,” Tom advised. ”Hamps.h.i.+re and his gang may be tapping your phone. We'll pick up your mother and Ray by car and drive them to the Enterprises airfield.”
It was decided as a safety measure to divide forces. Ted and Bud would go first in Bud's convertible, while Tom and Mr. Swift followed in Tom's sports car.
A NIGHT OF PERIL 49.
As they were about to leave, Mrs. Swift spoke nervously to her husband. ”I-I don't want to seem unduly worried, my dear, but do you suppose someone might be watching the house right now? If so, he may trail you.”
Mr. Swift gave her a rea.s.suring hug. ”You may have a point there, Mary-we'll check. Switch on all the yard lights, Tom.”
”Right, Dad. I'll turn Caesar and Brutus loose, too. They'll certainly let us know if anyone's lurking around!”
The two bloodhounds were kenneled outside. Besides being the Swift family pets, they were also highly trained watchdogs.
Tom pressed a master switch, controlling a number of spotlights concealed in the shrubbery. Instantly the house and grounds were bathed in a brilliant radiance.
Then he and Bud hurried out to open the kennel. With eager yelps, the two bloodhounds came loping out. They ambled about, lifting their heads occasionally to sniff the night air, but gave no sign of detecting any unfamiliar scents.
”All clear,” Tom reported. ”Let's get going!”
The trip to Ted Spring's house was completed without incident. The others waited outside while Ted went in to tell his mother and brother about moving to Ames's cottage, and help pack for the trip. Tom had parked his low-slung sports car at the curb behind Bud's red convertible. Minutes later, Ted emerged from the house alone, looking anxious and worried.
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”What about your mother and Ray?” asked Mr. Swift. ”Nothing wrong, is there?”
”They won't come,” Ted reported. ”Mother says she feels safer right here in her own home.”
”That's natural, I suppose,” said Mr. Swift, ”but in this case I strongly believe it would be better for her to follow our plan.”
”I've tried to convince her, sir. Would you talk to her, please? I'm sure she'll listen to you.”
Mr. Swift grinned sympathetically and opened the car door. ”All right, son. I hope your confidence isn't misplaced, but I'll see what I can do.”
While Mr. Swift and Ted went back inside, Tom and Bud scouted around cautiously for signs of anyone spying on the house. All seemed quiet and normal.
The only other cars parked on the street were empty.
Fifteen minutes later Mrs. Spring and Ray came out, accompanied by Ted and Mr. Swift, who were carrying the suitcases. The boys loaded these into the convertible's trunk, then Tom a.s.sisted Mrs. Spring into the back seat. The slender, dark-haired woman wore an anxious, tense look.
”I do hope I've made the right decision,” she fretted.
”I'm sure you have,” said Tom rea.s.suringly. ”Believe me, you and Ray will be perfectly safe at Bluejay Lake.”
”Sure we will,” Ray spoke up stoutly. ”Boy, it'll be fun going up there!” He climbed in be- A NIGHT OF PERIL 51.
side her, and Ted took the front seat with Bud.