rough sketch. He was mulling over the idea when Chow Winkler and Bud
Barclay wandered into the office. Both were impressed when Tom explained
the sketch.

Chow stared at it, goggle-eyed at the thought of such a contraption
"coming to life." "So that's the Ole Think Box, eh?" he muttered.

Tom laughed. "Good name, Chow!"

All three were startled as a voice suddenly broke in over the wall
intercom. It was the operator on duty at the plant's communication
center.

"Turn on your TV, skipper," the operator suggested. "We've just had a
news bulletin that an earthquake tremor has been felt over in Medfield.
There's a big plant there that makes rocket nose cones. A mobile TV
crew's been rushed to the scene in a helicopter and they're trying to
pick up the action with a television camera."

"Good night! Another quake?" Bud gasped.

Tom had already rushed to the videophone. Flicking it on, he switched to
a commercial channel. Soon a picture appeared on the screen. It was a
panoramic shot of a landscape, evidently viewed from a hovering
aircraft, with a large industrial plant just below.

A TV commentator's voice was reporting developments. "Few visible signs
of a tremor," he said. "As you can see, the rocket-plant personnel and
the people of Medfield are making desperate attempts to evacuate.
Fortunately, most of them have already left the immediate area."