The thought sent a thrill of excitement tinged with worry through the young inventor’s mind.  Would the container he had devised prove suitable?

“Hey!  A call on the videophone!” Bud pointed to the red light flashing on the control board.  He jumped up and switched on the set.

Blake, the Washington announcer, appeared on the screen.

“Bad news, skipper,” he said ominously.  “An earthquake tremor was just felt here in Washington.  It centered in a shipyard on the Potomac and caused great damage!”

CHAPTER X

ENERGY FROM PLANET X

Tom and Bud listened in dismay as Blake reported all the details he had been able to gather.

“Was my Quakelizor a flop, Bud?” Tom muttered, his shoulders drooping as the announcer signed off.  “It must have been!”

“Don’t be silly!  Snap out of it!” Bud gave his pal a cheerful poke in the ribs, hoping to buck him up.  “You heard what Blake said—­Washington itself was hardly touched.  Without your setup, think of all the people that might have been killed or injured!  And all the government buildings that might have been wrecked, maybe even the White House.  I’d say your shock-wave deflector must have been at least ninety per cent effective!”

Tom brightened somewhat on hearing Bud’s words.  He picked up the phone, and placed a call to Dr. Miles at the Bureau of Mines.  It was almost half an hour before the operator was able to get a line through.  But Tom felt the suspense had been worth while when Dr. Miles exclaimed: 

“Tom, it was a miracle you completed the Quakelizor installation in time!  In all probability it saved us from a major national disaster, perhaps worse than Pearl Harbor!”

Tom felt a glow of pride and relief.  “Thanks, sir.  But what about the shipyard destruction?” he added, still not entirely convinced.

“That was a bad break, Tom,” Dr. Miles admitted.  “Our detectors showed that the shock waves had been almost damped out when a sudden power failure occurred.  It turned out that an overload had shorted the Quakelizor’s power plant.  The crew had it fixed within moments, but by that time the damage was done.”

Tom winced as he heard of the unfortunate accident, but was thankful the results had been no worse.

Miles went on to say that he had just been conferring with Ahlgren at the Pentagon.  The Defense Department now feared that attempts might be made against other large cities and was therefore eager to have Tom deliver several quake deflectors as soon as possible.  These would be installed at strategic points around the country.

“The government heads were so impressed with your invention, Tom,” Dr. Miles added, “that they’ll probably be walking the floor anxiously until the others arrive.”

Tom chuckled, then became serious.  “Tell them we’ll go to work right away,” he informed the seismologist.  “I’ll have the new Quakelizors ready as soon as possible, but you’d better warn your associates it’s bound to take a few days.”