Free Tom Swift and His Flying Lab by Victor Appleton II Page B

nothing, quickly binding his wrists with a number of sturdy loops.
    The leader now resumed his train of thought. "But perhaps you will not die after all," the man continued. "For you are rational men, and my compadres and I are rational as well."
    "Don’t try to make funny business," one of the armed men cautioned.
    "Don’t worry, Miguel, they have no chance," another answered. "We have them tied up like chickens on market day, eh?" The men all laughed at this.
    "We’ll deliver these hombres to the capitan," said the man called Miguel. "He will be pleased to see them, no?"
    "He will be most pleased," agreed the slick-haired leader.
    "Where are you taking us?" Tom asked defiantly. The answer was a shove from behind, bringing more laughter. Tom and Hank were prodded along a path to the farmhouse. They were led through a short hall which opened into a large, well-furnished room. A heavyset man with European features reclined in a chair, smoking.
    "Our visitors come to meet you," said the man in charge of the patrol, holstering his revolver.
    The heavyset man regarded the captives nervously, puffing smoke into the air. "Thank you, Canova." Well, thought Tom with grim humor, at last I know the name of Mr. Oily-Hair!
    "I take it you are the capitan," commented Hank.
    The man dashed his cigarette into an ashtray and shook his head. "You do me too much honor," he said. "The capitan awaits you elsewhere—far away, in fact."
    "In Verano, I’ll bet," declared Tom.
    "Ah!" said the man, noncommittally. "As for me, there is no reason not to tell you my name. It is Leeskol. Dr. Leeskol, in fact."
    " Not pleased to make your acquaintance," Tom said. "You’re crazy if you think you can kidnap the two of us and trundle us all the way to South America! Obviously we’ve contacted the authorities before landing our plane."
    "Yes— obviously," Leeskol replied. "But you see, there is only one road to this lonely farmhouse of ours, running to the north and the south. To the north, sadly, the old bridge has collapsed, and to the south a tanker truck has just had an unfortunate accident which will block the road for hours. Of course, there are planes and helicopters, but our little airfield is not lighted, you know, and the sun is going down as we speak. There will be several hours, I think, before your ‘authorities’ come to disturb us."
    Hank stared steadily at Leeskol, and was rewarded by seeing him twitch. "How did you know Tom and I were out searching for your plane? I gather you made these preparations for our benefit."
    "You ask how we know—how do we know anything, Mr. Hank Sterling? We have our ways. When we knew you had spotted Pedro Canova in the Renshaw and seemed preparing to land, it was easy to have our tanker truck driven into position. We would have used it no matter who had discovered us. But I cannot take credit for the bridge. It has been out for two years, I’m told!"
    Tom and Hank were herded down a creaky wooden ladder into a musty cellar that seemed as wide as the entire farmhouse. It was lit by a single yellow bulb. There the man called Miguel removed the cords around their wrists. They were ordered to stand at the far end of the room, and after their captors had climbed the ladder again, it was pulled up through the trap door.
    "You cannot hope to escape the cellar," Leeskol called down through the trap door. "It is entirely underground on all sides, and the ceiling, of thick wood, is six feet above your heads. But do not be disheartened—you may expect to leave within an hour or two." The door clattered down, and Tom and Hank could hear it being bolted above.
    "Well," said Tom in a whisper, "I guess we’ll be meeting the man in charge whether we want to or not."
    "As well as free passage to picturesque South America," Hank snorted. "Thanks for signaling me about the televoc pins, by the way."
    "I was able to drop mine to the ground."
    "That sounds like an improvement on how I got rid of mine."
    "Why? What did