A Worth-while Offer
Both Mr. Lewis and Mr. Holton smiled. It was evident that they had not
expected this.
"That's the only thing that'll satisfy you?" the former asked, his
mind working rapidly.
The young men nodded.
"We'll be careful and do all we can for the good of the expedition,"
said Bob anxiously. "Please arrange to take us along."
There was a period of suspense. Then the men looked at each other.
"What will we say?" Joe's father asked, totally undecided.
Mr. Holton had been mentally debating the subject. Now he was ready
for an answer.
"Let's let them go," he said. "They're as big and strong as we and are
usually equal to any crisis. You see what they did to this gang of
men. Shows they are resourceful, and that's what you have to be in a
strange land where danger lurks at every step. In my opinion they'd be
a valuable asset to the expedition."
The youths looked at Mr. Holton gratefully. They felt that the battle
was nearly half won.
For nearly a minute Mr. Lewis was silent. Then he spoke with decision.
"I think you're right, Howard," he said. "We'll have a talk with their
mothers this afternoon, and I am of the opinion that they'll give
their consent if we go at them right."
"Fine!" cried Bob joyously. "Do your best to win them over. I think
they'll agree to let us go, especially since they have so much faith
in you. But say! You haven't told us who all intend to make up the
expedition. There isn't to be a large number, is there?"
"No," Mr. Holton answered. "We only intended to have three, Mr. Lewis,
an anthropologist, and myself, but if you boys accompany us the number
will, of course, be raised to five. And perhaps," he went on, "that
would be better than to have so few. You see it isn't like an
expedition into Africa, where there are plenty of native carriers to
bear your provisions. We'll have to rely more on our own resources
and be extremely careful that we don't get lost. Several million
square miles of jungle is a wide area to cut into, especially when so
much of it is unexplored."
"Should think it would be great fun," commented Joe, mentally
picturing the many thrills that promised to make the trip interesting.
"It will be," Mr. Holton returned. "But it will also have its dangers.
These are mainly of human character. Why, it is said that there are
tribes of Indians so uncivilized that they think nothing of----"
"Ahem!" Mr. Lewis cut in purposefully.
"What were you going to say?" Joe asked.
"Perhaps I'll tell you some other time," came the reply. "Right now I
think I'll have a look at my firearms. In all probability they need
oiling."
He left for the house, and the others remained for several minutes
longer. Then Mr. Lewis departed also, leaving the youths to
themselves.
"What do you suppose Dad was going to say--about the savages, I mean?"
Bob asked, glancing around to make sure that the men were gone.
"Something that shouldn't go into our young ears," smiled Joe and then
turned to the house.
As he did so he happened to glance out at the street, to see that two
men were making their way up to the house. Each carried a small hand
satchel. That they were strangers Joe guessed at once, although they
might not be to his father and Mr. Holton.
Joe waited until the men were close and then turned to meet them.
"Naturalists by the names of Lewis and Holton," one man said. "Can we
find them here?"
"Yes," Joe replied, wondering what was meant. "Come in the house and
I'll call them."
The strangers did as directed, and Joe went around to find his father
and Mr. Holton.
Bob took a chair on the porch.
Joe found the men cleaning their rifles. Neither could explain who the
strangers were.
"Perhaps they're from the museum," said Bob's father, as he and Mr.
Lewis left for the living room of the Lewis home.
During the discussion Bob and Joe remained on the porch, not wishing
to intrude on the naturalists' private affairs. They were not there
long, however, till Mr. Holton called them in with the others.
"Boys, this is Mr. Weslowe, and this, Mr. Duncan, both of the Neuman
Film Corporation. The young man on my left is Joe Lewis; on my right,
Bob Holton, my son."
After a few casual remarks, Mr. Holton proceeded to tell why the
representatives from the film corporation were there.
"You see, they learned of our proposed expedition into the wilds of
Brazil," he explained, "and they have come to make a business
proposition. Suppose one of you continues," he ended, looking at the
men, "for if these young men are to be a part of the expedition they
should know about this."
"As you know, we are with the Neuman Film Corporation," Mr. Weslowe
explained. "Now this house is always on the lookout for an opportunity
to take motion pictures of little-known places, and here is certainly
an opportunity. Unexplored Brazil! Ah! What a chance!
"The minute Neuman learned of this expedition they lost no time in
sending us out here to make an offer--one that we sincerely trust you
will take up."
He stopped to open his satchel and get out a folded paper. Then he
continued:
"We want you to take motion pictures of Brazil for our company. Will
you do it?"
For a few seconds no one answered. Then Mr. Lewis leaned forward.
"Won't it be difficult?" he asked.
"On the contrary," Mr. Duncan returned. "Very simple. Hardly anything
to it. We'll give you complete instructions and will not hold you
strictly responsible for any lost film. In fact it nearly always
happens that at least several score feet of film are lost on such an
expedition, where wet and damp have so much to do with the success of
the pictures taken."
"Of course," said Mr. Weslowe, "we realize that yours will be an
expedition for the good of science, not to take moving pictures. It is
for this reason that we will willingly place the responsibility, which
isn't very much, in the hands of these young men here--your sons.
"Now this will not mean," he assured them, "that they must put in all
their time for this cause. We only wish several scenes along the
journey. For instance, you might start by taking a movie of Pará, or
whatever other city you first reach. Then several hundred feet may be
used along the mainstream of the Amazon, showing the gradual progress
of the expedition. When you turn onto a less-known river, that's when
we want the real show to start. The country you'll pass through will
be wilder, and the pictures will be more interesting. But once again
let me assure you that the apparatus we'll furnish will be of the
simplest design, and you need not worry about not meeting with success
as far as that goes. And we'll pay you well for your trouble. Here's
the contract. Read it over. See what you think of it."
He passed the paper to Mr. Holton, who shared the reading with Bob,
Joe, and Mr. Lewis.