“Might be some uranium-bearing rock under it,” Eddie said. He leaned over his side of the boat. Although the sand bar was not far below, the water was somewhat murky, and the ripples on the surface made it difficult to see anything on the bottom. “Might be a tough job getting at it, all right, but—”
The rest of the words died in Eddie’s throat, as a glint of metal flashed in his eyes.
“Teena, there—there’s something down on the sand bar!”
“What do you mean, something?”
“Something bright. Like metal.” Eddie put his face as close to the water as he could without falling out of the boat. “I can see it now!” he exclaimed. “It’s about two feet long. Two or three inches thick. It looks round, and—”
“Eddie!” Teena said. “The metal tube you saw that day in the rowboat. You know, the day we came across those two men at the cove. Remember?”
“I remember,” Eddie said, for the thought already had sprung into his mind.
Now two other thoughts crowded in behind it. Both were puzzling thoughts which left his mind reeling.
What was the metal tube doing there below on the sand bar? Why, above all things, was it sending out radioactive rays?
