30 .

Radnor pointed to one of the photos. "This tall, dark one, Flash Ludens, the trio's ringleader, is an electrical wizard."

Tom studied the face as Bud burst out, "Say, look at Flash's hair. Some plastering job!"

"Good reason for it," Ames said. "Covers a jagged scar running almost the length of his scalp."

"What about these other two characters?" Tom asked.

"Pins Zoltan, the short, blond one, used to be a crackerjack bank robber,"

Ames went on. "One day, though, while he was backing out of a bank with gun drawn, an armored truck pulled up on an unscheduled stop. The guards blazed away and Zoltan's spine was nicked by a bullet. Today two metal surgical pins still remain in his backbone. That's how he got his nickname."

"And this dark-haired one with the mustache," Radnor took up the story, "he's Slick Steck-a real gangland product."

Ames nodded. "They don't come any tougher than Slick."

Abruptly Tom swung out of his chair. There was a grim look on his face. "I'm starting to get the shape of things now. The Briggin boys' change to science is a lot more sinister than their bank robberies."

Ames looked grave. "I'm afraid you're right, Tom."

"With Flash Ludens-the brain-calling the for- MENACING BIRDS 31.

mula, he and the other two are probably making a mint of money selling scientific information and apparatus to other mobsters."

"So that's their racket," Bud commented. "But I still don't see what they want with Tom's relotrol."

No one could answer this, but Tom said tersely, "That's something we'd better hurry and find out."

"Okay, pal," Bud replied. "How do we start?"

"By finding that mechanized crow," Tom answered. "If we discover it is remote controlled, we can trace the control beam and locate the operator's headquarters. Let's go, Bud." He strode toward the office door. "If anything else comes up," he said to Harlan and Radnor, "we'll be at the Sky Queen's hangar."

"Right," Ames said. "In the meantime, I'll alert the plant's security network."

As the boys hurried off toward the Flying Lab's mammoth underground hangar, Bud said, "So we're going to use the Sky Queen for this crow hunt."

"Yes. I figure on making a reconnaissance flight in the area where we were attacked."

"Whoever's directing the crow may not send it out against the Flying Lab, though," said Bud.

"I think we can make them."

"How?"

"By putting one of our robot models on board- a working model. They'd never pa.s.s up a chance to try capturing one of them."

32 .

"A robot lure, eh?" Bud laughed, then sobered. "But say, aren't you taking a chance that the Flying Lab will be kidnaped like the jet plane?"

"The Tomasite layers will protect us from any remote control, I'm sure."

Tom gave orders for the Sky Queen to be taken out, asking that as much publicity as possible be given to this to notify his enemy. Within a few minutes there was a bustle of activity. Men in gray coveralls scrambled around the roof of the huge hangar. Soon, to the whine of hydraulic lifts, the roof of the building split in two, each part rolling into the walls, and its subsurface floor rose toward the concrete ap.r.o.n.

A huge, gleaming stabilizer fin lifted into view. Then the immense body and wings appeared. The ship rested parallel to the ground on its tricycle landing gear.

"They're putting on a good show," Bud remarked.

Tom scanned the sky for any plane that might be hovering nearby, but there was none in sight. He hoped his plan would not be a failure.

"Let's go for the little robot now," he suggested to Bud.

As the boys started off, they met Chow and asked him if he wanted to go along and see the small robots in the model division. Tom explained that each robot had a special experimental function in connection with his giant robot.

MENACING BIRDS 33.

"I reckon I kin stand it." The cook grinned. "Mebbe one o' these lil ole robots will be better for that rodeo than a giant."

The three entered a wing of one of the buildings given over to modelmaking.

They found six-foot, heavy-set Arvid Hanson, head of this section, in his office.

He swiveled around on his workbench stool. "h.e.l.lo," he said. "Close the door behind you, Chow. It's noisier than a boiler factory around here today."

Quickly Tom explained his plans and said he wanted to put a walking robot aboard the Sky Queen as a decoy.

"I hope the scheme will work," Hanson said. "But watch out, Tom. This Briggin gang will stop at nothing!"

Hanson led the way to a room where the midget robots were kept.

Chow gasped. "Well, brand my circus side show!" he exclaimed. "These ole dwarfs look mighty real 'cept for their funny box haids!"

"Wait until you see them work," Bud said. "How about an exhibition, Arv?"

Hanson went to a control panel and dialed one k.n.o.b after another. At once the little mechanical men began to perform. One walked, one raised and lowered its arms, still another turned its head from side to side and completely around.

Chow stared, dumfounded. "You didn't even wind 'em up," he cried in disbelief.

"No, they're radio controlled," Tom answered.

34 .

"By the way, Arv, I want to take along a portable control panel on the Flying Lab to work Walter, the walking robot."

Hanson promised to have everything ready by four o'clock that afternoon and Tom said he would pick up Walter and the control panel himself.

Tom's next stop was at the Enterprises radio station, where he had a long talk with George Billing, the manager.

They decided to use a system of triangulation. It was arranged that Billing and his a.s.sistant would drive two radio-tracking trucks one hundred miles in different directions from Shopton. Both vehicles would be equipped with high- frequency signal detectors to trace the direction of the source of any instructions an enemy might send the crow. Another operator would remain at the Enterprises tower for the third detection point.

"Smith and I will leave at once," Billing said, "so we'll be in position by the time you're aloft."

Tom, feeling that the final checkup on the arrangements for the reconnaissance flight could wait until afternoon, decided to go home to lunch. He invited Bud and together the boys left the Enterprises grounds. As they strode along the little-traveled road, bordered by trees, Bud suddenly pointed excitedly.

"Isn't that a crow on top of the tree there?"

Tom started. Following Bud's finger, he sighted a MENACING BIRDS 35.

large iridescent black bird on a treetop some distance away.

"Does he belong in a nest or a laboratory?" Tom asked, equally interested.

"From here, you couldn't tell the difference," he added, gazing upward. "Except that he's smaller than the mechanical one we've seen so far. But there may be several sizes, for all we know."

"I'll tell you in a few seconds, Tom," Bud whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"Remember I once won second prize in a bird-calling contest in school?"

Tom looked skeptical.

"I'm serious, Tom. Watch this."

Bud threw back his head, cupped his hands to his mouth, and squawked, "Caw, caw, caw!" The crow perked up its head and looked around. Bud cawed again. Now the bird craned its neck trying to locate its fellow creature.

Bud cawed once more and this time the crow called back, scolding angrily.

Tom doubled up with laughter. "You get first prize this time, Bud."

After lunch, when the boys were ready to return to Swift Enterprises, Tom told his family what the plans for the afternoon were. His mother begged him not to take any chances and Sandy added impishly: "Since it's only a crow you're after, I won't invite 36 .

myself along. But when you boys are going on a long trip, count me in."

"Okay, Sandy," said Bud. "But we'd have to be sure you wouldn't be a target for remote control before we'd take you." As the girl grimaced, he added, "I'll admit you'd make a swell decoy, though!"

Laughing, Sandy waved good-by to Bud and Tom as they left for the plant.

During the two hours remaining before departure, Tom made a careful inspection of all equipment in the Flying Lab. Then he checked to make certain that one of his drone planes was berthed in the Sky Queen.

This drone was a lance-nosed, pilotless jet. equipped with a powerful landing forcer that enabled it to capture intruding planes and steer them back by radio control. Tom had used a fleet of these drones to protect his Fearing Island rocket base. Now he intended to use one to capture the crow, if possible, and hoped that his invention had more pulling power than the machinery inside the mysterious mechanical bird.

Next, Tom left to get a portable control panel that gave the small walking robot its orders. After this was set in place in the Flying Lab, the young inventor went to get Walter. To his satisfaction, he noticed a plane flying at great speed high above the plant.

"I hope Flash Ludens was in that plane," Tom murmured, "and that he'll be back."

Hanson met him at the door of his office and they MENACING BIRDS 37.

carried the small walking robot outdoors. Then, in full view, Tom marched him across the grounds to the waiting Sky Queen. Walter clumped along awkwardly, while Tom, walking a few steps behind, guided the robot with a small temporary control panel.

Walter was hoisted, head first, through a hatch in the underside of the fuselage and put in a large storage locker. Tom and Bud took their places in the forward pilot's compartment, then taxied the Sky Queen to a special quarter-mile square of glazed brick that could withstand the blast of its take-off exhaust.

Tom opened the throttle. With a roar the jet lifters let loose their blast. The great craft shook once and began to lift.

Reaching a good cruising height in the overcast sky, Tom switched off the lifters and sent the forward jets into action. The Sky Queen rapidly reached the area where the plane kidnaping had occurred. The sky was deserted.

"Let's cruise around for a while," Bud suggested.

'Til swing her in a wide circle," said Tom, "so it won't be too obvious that we're playing decoy for that mechanical buzzard."

"Crow," Bud chided.

"Well, it has a buzzard's habits," said Tom. "I wish it would come out of its nest."

The gleaming plane swept back and forth in a lazy circle through the leaden sky for almost an hour 38 .

without incident. Tom prepared to return to the base.

"That was a wild-crow chase, if I ever saw one," Bud commented.

"I'm afraid so," said Tom, swinging the ship to avoid a large gray cloud. "I think we'll drop under that air smudge."

He reached for the vertical controls.

"Tom!" cried Bud. "Look what's coming out of that cloud! The crow!"

"And it's coming straight at us!" Tom said. "Now for the capture!"

"Watch out, Tom, there are two of them this time!"

The second bird was breaking through the cloud and heading for the Flying Lab.

Tom's hands gripped the controls. He shot a glance to the left. Three more black specks were swooping around from the rear, veering clear of the jet exhausts. Another appeared in front of them- then still another.

"They're coming from all sides!" cried Bud. "We're in the middle of a whole flock!"

Tom groaned. This could mean real trouble!

CHAPTER 5.

A RARE CAPTURE.