Tom Swift in the Land of Wonders
V >>
Victor Appleton >> Tom Swift in the Land of Wonders
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 | 5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
"No, of course not," said Ned, a bit shortly.
"I--I had a bad dream, that was all. All
right now."
"For that I am glad. Try to get all the sleep
you can, for we must start early to avoid the
heat of the day," and there was the sound of
the guide leaving and arranging the folds of the
mosquito net behind him to keep out the night-
flying insects.
Once more Ned composed himself to sleep, and
this time successfully, for he did not have any
more unpleasant dreams. The quiet of the
jungle settled down over the camp, at least the
comparative quiet of the jungle, for there were
always noises of some sort going on, from the
fall of some rotten tree limb to the scream or
growl of a wild beast, while, now and again, from
the river came the pig-like grunts of the alligators.
It was about two o'clock in the morning, as
they ascertained later, when the whole camp--
white travelers and all--was suddenly awakened
by a wild scream. It seemed to come from one
of the natives, who called out a certain word
ever and over again. To Tom and Ned it
sounded like:
"Oshtoo! Oshtoo! Oshtoo!"
"What's the matter?" cried Professor Bumper.
"The vampires!" came the answering voice of
Jacinto. "One of the Indians has been attacked
by a big vampire bat! Look out, every one!
It may be a raid by the dangerous creatures!
Be careful!"
Notwithstanding this warning Ned stuck his
head out of the tent. The same instant he was
aware of a dark enfolding shadow passing over
him, and, with a shudder of fear, he jumped back.
CHAPTER XII
A FALSE FRIEND
"What is it? What's the matter?" cried Tom
springing from his cot and hastening to the side
of his chum in the tent. "What has happened, Ned?"
"I don't know, but Jacinto is yelling
something about vampires!"
"Vampires?"
"Yes. Big bats. And he's warning us to be
careful. I stuck my head out just now and I
felt that same sort of shadow I felt this evening
when we were down near the river."
"Nonsense!"
"I tell you I did!"
At that instant Tom flashed a pocket electric
lamp he had taken from beneath his pillow and
in the gleam of it he and Ned saw fluttering
about the tent some dark, shadow-like form, at
the sight of which Tom's chum cried:
"There it is! That's the shadow! Look out!"
and he held up his hands instinctively to shield
his face.
"Shadow!" yelled Tom, unconsciously adding
to the din that seemed to pervade every part of
the camp. "That isn't a shadow. It's
substance. It's a monster bat, and here goes
for a strike at it!"
He caught up his camera tripod which was near
his cot, and made a swing with it at the creature
that had flown into the tent through an opening
it had made for itself.
"Look out!" yelled Ned. "If it's a vampire it'll----"
"It won't do anything to me!" shouted Tom,
as he struck the creature, knocking it into the
corner of the tent with a thud that told it must
be completely stunned, if not killed. "But
what's it all about, anyhow?" Tom asked.
"What's the row?"
From without the tent came the Indian cries of:
"Oshtoo! Oshtoo!"
Mingled with them were calls of Jacinto, partly
in Spanish, partly in the Indian tongue and
partly in English.
"It is a raid by vampire bats!" was all Tom
and Ned could distinguish. "We shall have
to light fires to keep them away, if we can suc-
ceed. Every one grab up a club and strike hard!"
"Come on!" cried Tom, getting on some clothes
by the light of his gleaming electric light
which he had set on his cot.
"You're not going out there, are you?" asked Ned.
"I certainly am! If there's a fight I want to
be in it, bats or anything else. Here, you have
a light like mine. Flash it on, and hang it
somewhere on yourself. Then get a club and
come on. The lights will blind the bats, and
we can see to hit 'em!"
Tom's plan seemed to be a good one. His
lamp and Ned's had small hooks on them, so
they could be carried in the upper coat pocket,
showing a gleam of light and leaving the hands
free for use.
Out of the tents rushed the young men to find
Professor Bumper and Mr. Damon before them.
The two men had clubs and were striking about
in the half darkness, for now the Indians had set
several fires aglow. And in the gleams,
constantly growing brighter as more fuel was piled
on, the young inventor and his chum saw a
weird sight.
Circling and wheeling about in the camp clearing
were many of the black shadowy forms that
had caused Ned such alarm. Great bats they
were, and a dangerous species, if Jacinto was
to be believed.
The uncanny creatures flew in and out among
the trees and tents, now swooping low near the
Indians or the travelers. At such times clubs
would be used, often with the effect of killing or
stunning the flying pests. For a time it seemed
as if the bats would fairly overwhelm the camp,
so many of them were there. But the increasing
lights, and the attacks made by the Indians and
the white travelers turned the tide of battle, and,
with silent flappings of their soft, velvety wings,
the bats flew back to the jungle whence they had emerged.
"We are safe--for the present!" exclaimed
Jacinto with a sigh of relief.
"Do you think they will come back?" asked Tom.
"They may--there is no telling."
"Bless my speedometer!" cried Mr. Damon,
"If those beasts or birds--whatever they are--
come back I'll go and hide in the river and take
my chances with the alligators!"
"The alligators aren't much worse," asserted
Jacinto with a visible shiver. "These vampire
bats sometimes depopulate a whole village."
"Bless my shoe laces!" cried Mr. Damon. "You
don't mean to say that the creatures can eat up a
whole village?"
"Not quite. Though they might if they got
the chance," was the answer of the Spanish
guide. "These vampire bats fly from place to
place in great swarms, and they are so large and
blood-thirsty that a few of them can kill a horse
or an ox in a short time by sucking its blood. So
when the villagers find they are visited by a
colony of these vampires they get out, taking
their live stock with them, and stay in caves or in
densely wooded places until the bats fly on.
Then the villagers come back.
"It was only a small colony that visited us to-
night or we would have had more trouble. I do
not think this lot will come back. We have
killed too many of them," and he looked about
on the ground where many of the uncanny creatures
were still twitching in the death struggle.
"Come back again!" cried Mr. Damon. "Bless
my skin! I hope not! I've had enough of bats--
and mosquitoes," he added, as he slapped at his
face and neck.
Indeed the party of whites were set upon by
the night insects to such an extent that it was
necessary to hurry back to the protection of the
nets.
Tom and Ned kicked outside the bat the former
had killed in their tent, and then both went back
to their cots. But it was some little time
before they fell asleep. And they did not have
much time to rest, for an early start must be
made to avoid the terrible heat of the middle of
the day.
"Whew!" whistled Ned, as he and Tom arose
in the gray dawn of the morning when Jacinto
announced the breakfast which the Indian cook
had prepared. "That was some night! If this
is a sample of the wilds of Honduras, give me
the tameness of Shopton."
"Oh, we've gone through with worse than
this," laughed Tom. "It's all in the day's work.
We've only got started. I guess we're a bit
soft, Ned, though we had hard enough work in
that tunnel-digging."
After breakfast, while the Indians were making
ready the canoes, Professor Bumper, who,
in a previous visit to Central America, had
become interested in the subject, made a brief
examination of some of the dead bats. They were
exceptionally large, some almost as big as hawks.
and were of the sub-family _Desmodidae_, the scientist
said.
"This is a true blood-sucking bat," went on
the professor. "This," and he pointed to the
nose-leaves, "is the sucking apparatus. The
bat makes an opening in the skin with its sharp
teeth and proceeds to extract the blood. I can
well believe two or three of them, attacking a
steer or mule at once, could soon weaken it so
the animal would die."
"And a man, too?" asked Ned.
"Well a man has hands with which to use
weapons, but a helpless quadruped has not.
Though if a sufficient number of these bats
attacked a man at the same time, he would have
small chance to escape alive. Their bites, too,
may be poisonous for all I know."
The Indians seemed glad to leave the "place
of the bats," as they called the camp site. Jacinto
explained that the Indians believed a vampire
could kill them while they slept, and they were
very much afraid of the blood-sucking bats.
There were many other species in the tropics,
Professor Bumper explained, most of which
lived on fruit or on insects they caught. The
blood-sucking bats were comparatively few, and
the migratory sort fewer still.
"Well, we're on our way once more,"
remarked Tom as again they were in the canoes
being paddled up the river. "How much
longer does your water trip take, Professor?"
"I hardly know," and Professor Bumper looked
to Jacinto to answer.
"We go two more days in the canoes," the
guide answered, "and then we shall find the
mules waiting for us at a place called Hidjio.
From then on we travel by land until--well until
you get to the place where you are going.
"I suppose you know where it is?" he added,
nodding toward the professor. "I am leaving
that part to you."
"Oh, I have a map, showing where I want to
begin some excavations," was the answer. "We
must first go to Copan and see what arrangements
we can make for laborers. After that--well, we
shall trust to luck for what we shall find."
"There are said to be many curious things,"
went on Jacinto, speaking as though he had no
interest. "You have mentioned buried cities.
Have you thought what may be in them--great
heathen temples, idols, perhaps?"
For a moment none of the professor's
companions spoke. It was as though Jacinto had
tried to get some information. Finally the
scientist said:
"Oh, yes, we may find an idol. I understand
the ancient people, who were here long before
the Spaniards came, worshiped idols. But we
shall take whatever antiquities we find."
"Huh!" grunted Jacinto, and then he called
to the paddlers to increase their strokes.
The journey up the river was not very
eventful. Many alligators were seen, and Tom and
Ned shot several with the electric rifle. Toward
the close of the third day's travel there was a
cry from one of the rear boats, and an alarm of
a man having fallen overboard was given.
Tom turned in time to see the poor fellow's
struggles, and at the same time there was a swirl
in the water and a black object shot forward.
"An alligator is after him!" yelled Ned.
"I see," observed Tom calmly. "Hand me the rifle, Ned."
Tom took quick aim and pulled the trigger.
The explosive electric bullet went true to its
mark, and the great animal turned over in a death
struggle. But the river was filled with them, and
no sooner had the one nearest the unfortunate
Indian been disposed of than another made a
dash for the man.
There was a wild scream of agony and then
a dark arm shot up above the red foam. The
waters seethed and bubbled as the alligators
fought under it for possession of the paddler.
Tom fired bullet after bullet from his wonderful
rifle into the spot, but though he killed some
of the alligators this did not save the man's life.
His body was not seen again, though search was
made for it.
The accident cast a little damper over the
party, and there was a feeling of gloom among
the Indians. Professor Bumper announced that
he would see to it that the man's family did not
want, and this seemed to give general satisfaction,
especially to a brother who was with the
party.
Aside from being caught in a drenching storm
and one or two minor accidents, nothing else
of moment marked the remainder of the river
journey, and at the end of the third day the
canoes pulled to shore and a night camp was
made.
"But where are the mules we are to use in
traveling to-morrow?" asked the professor of Jacinto.
"In the next village. We shall march there
in the morning. No use to go there at night
when all is dark."
"I suppose that is so."
The Indians made camp as usual, the goods being
brought from the canoes and piled up near
the tents. Then night settled down.
"Hello!" cried Tom, awakening the next morning
to find the sun streaming into his tent. "We
must have overslept, Ned. We were to start
before old Sol got in his heavy work, but we
haven't had breakfast yet."
"I didn't hear any one call us," remarked Ned.
"Nor I. Wonder if we're the only lazy birds."
He looked from the tent in time to see Mr.
Damon and the professor emerging. Then Tom
noticed something queer. The canoes were not
on the river bank. There was not an Indian
in sight, and no evidence of Jacinto.
"What's the matter?" asked the young
inventor. "Have the others gone on ahead?"
"I rather think they've gone back," was the
professor's dry comment.
"Gone back?"
"Yes. The Indians seem to have deserted us
at the ending of this stage of our journey."
"Bless my time-table!" cried Mr. Damon.
"You don't say so! What does it mean? What
has becomes of our friend Jacinto?"
"I'm afraid he was rather a false friend," was
the professor's answer. "This is the note he left.
He has gone and taken the canoes and all the
Indians with him," and he held out a paper on
which was some scribbled writing.
CHAPTER XIII
FORWARD AGAIN
"What does it all mean?" asked Tom, seeing
that the note was written in Spanish, a tongue
which he could speak slightly but read indifferently.
"This is some of Beecher's work," was
Professor Bumper's grim comment. "It seems that
Jacinto was in his pay."
"In his pay!" cried Mr. Damon. "Do you mean
that Beecher deliberately hired Jacinto to betray us?"
"Well, no. Not that exactly. Here, I'll translate
this note for you," and the professor proceeded to read:
"Senors: I greatly regret the step I have to
take, but I am a gentleman, and, having given
my word, I must keep it. No harm shall come
to you, I swear it on my honor!"
"Queer idea of honor he has!" commented Tom, grimly.
Professor Bumper read on:
"Know then, that before I engaged myself to
you I had been engaged by Professor Beecher
through a friend to guide him into the Copan
valley, where he wants to make some explorations,
for what I know not, save maybe that it
is for gold. I agreed, in case any rival expeditions
came to lead them astray if I could.
"So, knowing from what you said that you
were going to this place, I engaged myself to you,
planning to do what I have done. I greatly regret
it, as I have come to like you, but I had
given my promise to Professor Beecher's friend,
that I would first lead him to the Copan valley,
and would keep others away until he had had a
chance to do his exploration.
"So I have led you to this wilderness. It is
far from the Copan, but you are near an Indian
village, and you will be able to get help in a week
or so. In the meanwhile you will not starve, as
you have plenty of supplies. If you will travel
northeast you will come again to Puerto Cortes
in due season. As for the money I had from
you, I deposit it to your credit, Professor Beecher
having made me an allowance for steering rival
parties on the wrong trail. So I lose nothing,
and I save my honor.
"I write this note as I am leaving in the night
with the Indians. I put some harmless sedative
in your tea that you might sleep soundly, and not
awaken until we were well on our way. Do not
try to follow us, as the river will carry us swiftly
away. And, let me add, there is no personal
animosity on the part of Professor Beecher
against you. I should have done to any rival
expedition the same as I have done with you.
JACINTO."
For a moment there was silence, and then Tom
Swift burst out with:
"Well, of all the mean, contemptible tricks
of a human skunk this is the limit!"
"Bless my hairbrush, but he is a scoundrel!"
ejaculated Mr. Damon, with great warmth.
"I'd like to start after him the biggest alligator
in the river," was Ned's comment.
Professor Bumper said nothing for several
seconds. There was a strange look on his face,
and then he laughed shortly, as though the humor
of the situation appealed to him.
"Professor Beecher has more gumption than I gave
him credit for," he said. "It was a clever trick!"
"Trick!" cried Tom.
"Yes. I can't exactly agree that it was the
right thing to do, but he, or some friend acting
for him, seems to have taken precautions that
we are not to suffer or lose money. Beecher
goes on the theory that all is fair in love and
war, I suppose, and he may call this a sort of
scientific war."
Ned wondered, as he looked at his chum, how
much love there was in it. Clearly Beecher was
determined to get that idol of gold.
"Well, it can't be helped, and we must make
the best of it," said Tom, after a pause.
"True. But now, boys, let's have breakfast,
and then we'll make what goods we can't take
with us as snug as possible, until we can send
the mule drivers after them," went on Professor
Bumper.
"Send the mule drivers after them?" questioned Ned.
"What do you mean to do?"
"Do? Why keep on, of course. You don't
suppose I'm going to let a little thing like this
stand between me and the discovery of Kurzon
and the idol of gold, do you?"
"But," began Mr. Damon, "I don't see how--"
"Oh, we'll find a way," interrupted Tom. "It
isn't the first time I've been pretty well stranded
on an expedition of this kind, and sometimes
from the same cause--the actions of a rival.
Now we'll turn the tables on the other fellows
and see how they like it. The professor's right
--let's have breakfast. Jacinto seems to have
told the truth. Nothing of ours is missing."
Tom and Ned got the meal, and then a
consultation was held as to what was best to be
done.
"We can't go on any further by water, that's
sure," said Tom. "In the first place the river
is too shallow, and secondly we have no canoes.
So the only thing is to go on foot through the
jungle."
"But how can we, and carry all this stuff?"
asked Ned.
"We needn't carry it!" cried Professor Bumper.
"We'll leave it here, where it will be safe enough,
and tramp on to the nearest Indian village.
There we'll hire bearers to take our stuff on until
we can get mules. I'm not going to turn back!"
"Good!" cried Mr. Damon. "Bless my
rubber boots! but that's what I say--keep on!"
"Oh, no! we'll never turn back," agreed Tom.
"But how can we manage it?" asked Ned.
"We've just got to! And when you have
to do a thing, it's a whole lot easier to do than
if you just feel as though you ought to. So,
lively is the word!" cried Tom, in answer.
"We'll pack up what we can carry and leave
the rest," added the scientist.
Being an experienced traveler Professor Bumper
had arranged his baggage so that it could
be carried by porters if necessary. Everything
could be put into small packages, including the
tents and food supply.
"There are four of us," remarked Tom, "and if
we can not pack enough along with us to enable
us to get to the nearest village, we had better
go back to civilization. I'm not afraid to try."
"Nor I!" cried Mr. Damon.
The baggage, stores and supplies that were
to be left behind were made as snug as possible,
and so piled up that wild beasts could do the
least harm. Then a pack was made up for each
one to carry.
They would take weapons, of course, Tom
Swift's electric rifle being the one he choose for
himself. They expected to be able to shoot
game on their way, and this would provide them
food in addition to the concentrated supply they
carried. Small tents, in sections, were carried,
there being two, one for Tom and Ned and one
for Mr. Damon and the professor.
As far as could be learned from a casual
inspection, Jacinto and his deserting Indians had
taken back with them only a small quantity of
food. They were traveling light and down
stream, and could reach the town much more
quickly than they had come away from it.
"That Beecher certainly was slick," commented
Professor Bumper when they were ready to
start. "He must have known about what time
I would arrive, and he had Jacinto waiting for
us. I thought it was too good to be true, to get
an experienced guide like him so easily. But it
was all planned, and I was so engrossed in thinking
of the ancient treasures I hope to find that
I never thought of a possible trick. Well, let's
start!" and he led the way into the jungle, carrying
his heavy pack as lightly as did Tom.
Professor Bumper had a general idea in which
direction lay a number of native villages, and it
was determined to head for them, blazing a path
through the wilderness, so that the Indians could
follow it back to the goods left behind.
It was with rather heavy hearts that the party
set off, but Tom's spirits could not long stay
clouded, and the scientist was so good-natured
about the affair and seemed so eager to do the
utmost to render Beecher's trick void, that the
others fell into a lighter mood, and went on
more cheerfully, though the way was rough and
the packs heavy.
They stopped at noon under a bower they made
of palms, and, spreading the nets over them, got a
little rest after a lunch. Then, when the sun
was less hot, they started off again.
"Forward is the word!" cried Ned cheerfully. "Forward!"'
They had not gone more than an hour on the
second stage of their tramp when Tom, who
was in the lead, following the direction laid out
by the compass, suddenly stopped, and reached
around for his electric rifle, which he was carrying
at his back.
"What is it?" asked Ned in a whisper.
"I don't know, but it's some big animal there
in the bushes," was Tom's low-voiced answer.
"I'm ready for it."
The rustling increased, and a form could be
seen indistinctly. Tom aimed the deadly gun
and stood ready to pull the trigger.
Ned, tho had a side view into the underbrush,
gave a sudden cry.
"Don't shoot, Tom!" he yelled. "It's a man!"
CHAPTER XIV:
A NEW GUIDE
In spite of Ned Newton's cry, Tom's finger
pressed the switch-trigger of the electric rifle,
for previous experience had taught him that it
was sometimes the best thing to awe the natives
in out-of-the-way corners of the earth. But the
young inventor quickly elevated the muzzle, and
the deadly missile went hissing through the air
over the head of a native Indian who, at that
moment, stepped from the bush.
The man, startled and alarmed, shrank back
and was about to run into the jungle whence he
had emerged. Small wonder if he had, considering
the reception he so unwittingly met with.
But Tom. aware of the necessity for making
inquiries of one who knew that part of the jungle,
quickly called to him.
"Hold on!" he shouted. "Wait a minute. I didn't
mean that. I thought at first you were a
tapir or a tiger. No harm intended. I say,
Professor," Tom called back to the savant,
"you'd better speak to him in his lingo, I can't
manage it. He may be useful in guiding us to
that Indian village Jacinto told us of."
This Professor Bumper did, being able to make
himself understood in the queer part-Spanish
dialect used by the native Hondurians, though
he could not, of course, speak it as fluently as
had Jacinto.
Professor Bumper had made only a few remarks
to the man who had so unexpectedly appeared
out of the jungle when the scientist gave an
exclamation of surprise at some of the answers made.
"Bless my moving picture!" cried Mr. Damon.
"What's the matter now? Is anything wrong?
Does he refuse to help us?"
"No, it isn't that," was the answer. "In fact
he came here to help us. Tom, this is the brother
of the Indian who fell overboard and who was eaten
by the alligators. He says you were very kind
to try to save his brother with your rifle,
and for that reason he has come back to help us."
"Come back?" queried Tom.
"Yes, he went off with the rest of the Indians
when Jacinto deserted us, but he could not stand
being a traitor, after you had tried to save his
brother's life. These Indians are queer people.
They don't show much emotion, but they have
deep feelings. This one says he will devote
himself to your service from now on. I believe
we can count on him. He is deeply grateful to
you, Tom."
"I'm glad of that for all our sakes. But what
does he say about Jacinto?"
The professor asked some more questions,
receiving answers, and then translated them.
"This Indian, whose name is Tolpec, says
Jacinto is a fraud," exclaimed Professor Bumper.
"He made all the Indians leave us in the night,
though many of them were willing to stay and
fill the contract they had made. But Jacinto
would not let them, making them desert. Tolpec
went away with the others, but because of what
Tom had done he planned to come back at the
first chance and be our guide. Accordingly he
jumped ashore from one of the canoes, and made
his way to our camp. He got there, found it
deserted and followed us, coming up just now."
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 | 5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10