"Give it time, son. Tomorrow's another day," Chow said philosophically. "What you need is a haircut for the square dance."
Tom laughed in spite of himself. "Maybe you're right, Chow. Might help me think better."
Tom got off the stool and stretched out the kinks in his legs. He strolled outside with Chow, then scootered to the parking lot and hopped into his sleek, silver sports car.
A moment later he was whizzing off in the direction of Shopton. Nearing town, Tom turned off on a side-road short cut. He noticed in his mirror that a truck behind him also turned off.
"Really barreling along!" Tom thought. "If you're in such a hurry, the road's yours, pal."
He pulled over sharply, motioning the truck to pass. Instead, to Tom's surprise, it closed in straight behind him. The next moment, Tom saw a port open below the truck's hood and a strange-looking device pop out on a springlike steel cable.
It clamped magnetically to Tom's rear bumper! His car was caught like a fish on a line!
Tom stepped on the accelerator, trying to pull free. The truck at once swerved off the road, steering around a utility pole. As the cable tautened, there was a sickening screech of metal and the sports car was brought to a crashing halt!
Tom's head slammed against the side window. With a groan, the young inventor blacked out.