"Suppose we call Admiral Walter now and set a time for the Navy to move out of the missile area, so you can take over," his father said. Tom agreed, and his father placed the long-distance call to Washington. Moments later, Admiral Walter came on the line. Mr. Swift talked to him briefly, then turned the phone over to Tom, who described his preparations for the missile hunt. A time schedule of operations and communications was quickly laid out. The admiral was amazed to learn that Bud Barclay was already patrolling the area. "Our ships haven't seen or heard him!" the officer exclaimed. Suddenly Admiral Walter broke off. "Hold it, please, Tom! A code call is just coming in!" His voice was grave as he returned to the Swifts' line. "That message was from your friend, Bud Barclay," Admiral Walter reported. "It looks as if our enemy has found the missile!" "Oh, no!" Tom groaned. CHAPTER XIX FLASH FROM THE DEPTHS Tom was stunned by the news. "There's no chance of a mistake?" "Judge for yourself," Admiral Walter replied. He read the message: HAVE JUST SIGHTED ENEMY CRAFT DREDGING OUT METAL OBJECT Tom repeated the information to his father. Both Swifts were silent for a moment, exchanging dejected looks. Then Mr. Swift remarked evenly: "The game's never lost till it's over, son." "You're right, Dad!" Tom exclaimed. Turning back to the telephone, he said, "Admiral, I'm not quitting. We'll take off as soon as I can get back to the base!" With a hasty good-by to his father, and farewells to his mother, Sandy, and Phyl by phone, Tom dashed out of the building. He sped to Arv Hanson's workshop, and the new hydrolung suits were loaded onto a small pickup truck and taken to the airfield. While flying back to Fearing Island in a helijet, Tom received a radio flash from his father. "Another message from Bud. He says the object dug up by the Brungarians was _not_ the missile. It appeared to be the metal section of a ship's prow, from some hulk buried in the silt!" Tom was jubilant. "Terrific news, Dad! Our luck may be turning!" At the rocket base Tom detailed crews for the three undersea craft which were to take off on the expedition. Arv Hanson would captain one seacopter, Mel Flagler the jetmarine, while Zimby Cox, Chow, and four crewmen would accompany Tom in the _Sea Hound_. Because of their sonar-blinding systems, Tom realized there was a chance of the ships losing contact with one another--especially if their analyzer sonars developed trouble. He therefore plotted their course to the South Atlantic carefully, and issued orders for the antidetection circuits to be switched off every half-hour for a position check. "Report to your ships," he now ordered. As Tom was about to leave base headquarters, Harlan Ames telephoned from Shopton. "Bad news, Tom. Dimitri Mirov has broken jail!" "Good night!" Tom stifled a groan of dismay. "How did it happen?"