Part 9 (1/2)
”Hurrah!” yelled Ned, clapping his friend on the back ”You've done it again, Tom Swift!”
[Illustration: He Bent the Glass]
”Don't crow too soon Perhaps it won't bend back again If a rod of copper is annealed in a certain way it can be bent ONCE like rubber but then the crystal breaks up and it becolass will act the same way”
”Then try it! Don't keephis business er, or maybe he really was doubtful about the flexibility of the bar At any rate, when he applied pressure he did not seeain Then he proceeded actually to tie a knot in it, so bendable was the new substance!
[Illustration: The Glass Becalass industry!” declared Ned, noting that even the blows of a heavy sledge-hammer failed even so much as to crack the rod
”It's not half as wonderful as that other kind of glass,” said Tolass eye, d'you ood humor In his mind he could already see fat profits for the company
[Illustration: A Heavy Haive you a pair of black eyes if youhis chuhty well pleased with this stuff; it turned out better than I dared hope
You know, I got the idea for bendable glass while I was trying to figure out a way to e telescope mirror That was before we found the lassstone so you can reen disk”
[Illustration: ”I'm Well Pleased With This”]
”Yes, that's what I'll have to do if the salvage attempt fails But I'iven a rooot there they found their guest and Toa Chess]
”Well, son,” laughed Mr Swift, ”I've ht garinned Tom ”What do you think of this?” He handed his father the bar of bendable glass
”What do I think of it? Why, it looks like a glass rod, that's all I can see”
”Then watch!” Tom took the bar and deftly twisted it into the shape of a fat pretzel
”You've done it, son!” cried Mr Swift ”And to think I told you such a thing was iratulations!”
[Illustration: ”What Do You Think of This?”]
At dinner that evening the conversation turned ht to the West Indies It was decided to start the next day at sunrise, as Captain Britten had received word froetting up stearatulations!” Cried Mr Swift]
”Mr Dao with us, Dad,” said Toh, ”she was looking up the nalad of the excuse to do so!--but she could find none named Jones or Brown So that definitely proves those two felloere fakes and that they merely pretended relationshi+p in order to pump him about my work”
After supper Ned went to his hoht at the Swifts' to be on hand for the early start that was being planned To the latest available data on diving operations, and plotting the route over which the party would travel to the coast of Cuba