"Fish do talk," the young inventor said. "At least they make noises.
Don't you remember that emergency fish-talk code we used when we were--"
Suddenly Tom paused, his mouth dropping open. "_Chow!_ You've just
solved my problem!" he exclaimed.
"I have?" Chow goggled at the young inventor.
"You sure have!" Tom bounced off his stool and began pacing about. "Now,
take porpoises. They utter all sorts of sounds--grunts, squeals,
jawclaps--and one particularly characteristic sound, like the grating of
a rusty hinge."
Chow scratched his chin uncertainly. "Wal, what about it?"
"Suppose I used that rusty-hinge noise to mask the diver's noise." Tom
turned and stabbed the air with his finger. "I could _also_ use that
same sound output as the search pulse for my quality analyzer sonar!"
In this way, Tom explained, he could eliminate part of his bulky
equipment and do an even better job of making the diver "invisible."
Bubbling with enthusiasm, Tom decided to buy a live porpoise at once and
make an exact recording of its sounds. As soon as he had finished lunch,
he put in a number of calls to suppliers of marine specimens. But none
could provide a porpoise on short notice.
"Guess I'll have to catch one myself!" Tom told Chow.
He drove out to the airfield and took off in a Whirling Duck for Fearing
Island.
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