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into the robot’s main circuit at a signal from a micro-transmitter in Bud’s pocket. When the girls finished their show, he planned to make the robot do a few tricks that were not on the program!
    The master of ceremonies walked out. "And now," he said, "we present a surprise number in place of the one originally scheduled, by the world renowned vaudeville trio: The Three Swifties!"
    The band struck up a corny "show-biz" tune. The curtains parted and an amber spotlight revealed the inanimate Herbert standing between the two costumed girls. Bashalli bowed, then Sandy, and then the mechanical man broke out in a rash of colored light and bowed as well, delighting the audience. As the audience broke into applause, the girls hurried to the wings to take over the controls.
    Herbert began to jig across the stage, provoking uproarious laughter. With the girls working the regulating dials, the robot launched into a series of disjointed acrobatics. His lights blinked on and off, and his big eyes rolled from side to side. The response was deafening.
    "Now we’ll make him sing," whispered Sandy, and turned on the tape for this part of the act.
    Herbert’s voice was surprisingly like that of a notorious pop star, making the audience laugh all the louder as the robot imitated the singer’s well-known cool gestures and fancy footwork.
    Amid tremendous hand clapping the curtain went down. Then, as it arose again for a second bow from Herbert, Bud clicked the button in his pocket signaler. Instead of the expected bow, the robot seemed to waver uncertainly on stage, his empty head slowly turning as if inspecting the audience. The attendees fell silent. Abruptly Herbert began to move. He walked to the front of the stage and stumped down the wooden steps toward the audience. Bud’s plan was to give people in the first row a little scare, then leap up and point Herbert back to the stage like a misbehaving puppy.
    As he drew closer, the humanoid machine looked menacing. Had he gone out of control? the audience wondered. Would he harm someone?
    "Oh!" cried a girl in the front row, shrinking back in her seat.
    Bud decided that the time had come to end his joke. He rose to his feet and clicked a second button that would cause Herbert to reverse and march back up the steps to the stage.
    But to the boy’s consternation, Herbert continued to advance. Something had gone wrong!
    In a panic, Bud double-clicked the activator button on the signal device, which was supposed to immobilize the robot in case of an emergency. But Herbert continued to advance menacingly toward the front row.
    "Tom!" Bud cried. "Let me get past! I’ve got to stop him!"
    By this time, Herbert, clawed arms stretched before him like a Frankenstein monster, was stalking for the side of the hall, where town officials were seated. The robot headed directly for the mayor of Shopton!
    Bud was frantic. "Tom, do something!" he pled. "I’m not strong enough to tackle him by myself!"
    "Okay."
    To Bud’s amazement, his friend did not seem to be the least bit upset. Abruptly Herbert stopped, took a bow, then turned back and calmly sauntered in his awkward way up the stage steps. Here he bowed again, then walked to the wings, with the audience going into raptures of thunderous applause as the curtain descended.
    Tom hurried backstage with Bud at his heels. Sandy and Bashalli stood speechless. "Wh-what happened?" they babbled, their voices overlapping.
    Bud was about to confess his part when Tom replied, "Didn’t you like it? Bud and I thought we’d have some fun. We programmed him for an extra-surprise finale."
    "Well, I think you might have told us," said Sandy, while Bud’s jaw dropped open in amazement. He realized now that Tom had discovered the additional drive he and Hank had rigged up in the control console and had installed one of his own!
    "Good grief!" said the young pilot after the girls had stepped away, giving Tom a playful punch on the arm. "Nobody ever gets the better