Tom Swift and His Giant Telescope | Page 3

around the edge of the building. Had the stranger sneaked into the laboratory while Koku's back was turned?
[Illustration: Koku Bounded Off]
"I hope the space eye isn't smashed!" exclaimed Tom, examining the instrument. "Or the telescope lens."
Anxiously Ned waited as his chum detached the green disk and held it up.
"I--I guess it's O.K.," said Tom at length. "I'll test it in the lab and see."
[Illustration: "I Hope the Space Eye Isn't Smashed!"]
At this moment Koku reappeared, saying the intruder had vanished. Moreover, he was very contrite about having handled the telescope roughly. In a few seconds the fears of the three vanished. Put to the electric test, the disk was found to be all right.
"Who do you suppose was sneaking around here?" asked Ned.
"No telling," replied Tom. "But nothing seems to be missing," he added, glancing around.
[Illustration: "Nothing Seems to Be Missing."]
"I hope you're right," said Ned. "Now tell me more about this green disk. How did you happen to discover the stuff?"
"As to just what it is," replied the other slowly, "I'm not sure yet. When I analyzed it, I found a substance absolutely new to chemistry."
"Where did you get it?" asked Ned.
"I scraped it from that meteorite down in Koku's country in South America."
Ned whistled. "Ever since we found that thing which we called a planet stone, you've been discovering all sorts of things about it."
[Illustration: "I Scraped It From a Meteorite."]
"Right now I hope to revolutionize the field of astronomy with it," said Tom.
"Tell me more about this wonderful green substance."
"It may be a new compound or it may be an unknown element. Anyway, in experimenting with it I found that heat and electricity both change the stuff. The former has an apparently permanent effect, while an electric current, as you saw, alters it only temporarily."
[Illustration: "Heat and Electricity Change It."]
"Why didn't you make a big disk? Then you could have tested your theory right away," stated Ned Newton.
"For two good reasons," replied Tom, opening a drawer and taking out a small vial filled with yellow powder. "I wasn't sure it would improve a telescope for one thing, and this is the other." He handed the bottle to Ned. "This is all I have on hand of the new stuff."
[Illustration: "This Is All I Have."]
"'X,'" murmured Ned, reading the label. "But this powder isn't green. And why the X?"
"When the stuff is melted and then cooled it changes color," explained Tom. "As for the X, if you remember your algebra you know that letter stands for the unknown quantity."
"Too bad you can't make a huge green disk."
[Illustration: "This Powder Isn't Green!"]
"Don't worry about that," smiled his friend. "I'll soon have plenty of the powder. You haven't forgotten how the natives of Giant Land feared the meteorite and insisted that we take it away. It seems, however, that we got but a small piece of it. Evidently when it struck the ground the thing split, the heavier portion burying itself deep in the earth while the part we found remained near the surface."
[Illustration: "An Earthquake Caused the Upheaval."]
"About six weeks ago Koku got a letter from his brother, King Amo of Giant Land, telling of an earthquake which caused the upheaval of the huge stone. His people think we are great magicians or else witch doctors, and Amo wrote begging us to take the meteorite from his land. Of course, I was only too glad to oblige 'em."
"Then you plan going to South America--"
"Bless my passport, but I'm glad to hear that!" exclaimed a voice from the open doorway. "It seems as if I'm just in time!"
"Mr. Damon!" cried both boys together.
[Illustration: "Mr. Damon!" Cried Both Boys]
A jolly-looking, rather portly gentleman entered, swinging his cane excitedly. Tom and Ned gave him a warm welcome, for he was a friend of long standing and had accompanied them on many an expedition to remote quarters of the globe.
"Come in," invited Tom. "Sit down, Mr. Damon, and tell us the news."
"And what was it you were so tickled to hear just now?" added Ned.
[Illustration: "Come in and Tell us the News!"]
"I'll tell you," said the rather eccentric man, for once forgetting to bless something. "I'm in trouble, boys, and I need your help."
"You know we'll do anything we can, Mr. Damon," Tom assured him. "Just what is the difficulty?"
"My wife," said the caller glumly. "She's the trouble."
[Illustration: "I'm in Trouble, Boys."]
On hearing this both boys experienced no little difficulty in keeping their faces straight. Although Mrs. Damon was a fine woman in many ways, she was inclined to be very domineering where her husband was concerned. Ever since Tom Swift had rescued the man from a band of kidnapers, Mrs. Damon had had a great liking for the youthful scientist. Yet she felt that her husband should remain quietly at home with