The heavy
thud had apparently been caused by a falling file cabinet.
"Stop him!" Bud yelped.
Exman was heading straight for a plate-glass window! Reaching from floor
to ceiling, the glass formed one entire wall of the laboratory.
"Oh, no!" Tom tensed, realizing that it was hopeless to try to stop
Exman in time.
But an instant later, the rolling robot stopped of its own accord, as if
registering the fact that its energy waves were now striking a fragile
surface. The thick pane of glass vibrated in its frame.
"Good grief!" Tom wiped his brow. "Let's corral that thing before he
wrecks the whole lab!"
Exman was already rolling off on a new tack. The two boys managed to
grab him before more harm was done. The brain energy in its container
seemed to calm under their touch.
"What in the name of space science triggered it off?" Bud wondered out
loud.
"Time. It must have reacted to the passage of time," Tom conjectured.
"I suppose it just decided to explore this place." He added a bit
nervously, "The sooner we can communicate with this energy, the better!"
"But how?" Bud asked.
Tom's brow furrowed. "Say, I wonder if Exman might understand a direct
order?"
Tom backed a few paces away from the space robot, then said in a loud,
clear voice, "Come here!"
Exman remained fixed to its spot.
"Move right!" No response. "Move left!" Still no response.
"Guess you're not getting through, skipper," Bud commented with a grin.
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