Off for the Wilds of Brazil
"Well?"
It was Mr. Weslowe's voice after the scientists and their sons had
finished reading the contract.
Mr. Holton nodded.
"It's all right," he declared. "Contains nothing whatever that would
be objectionable."
Mr. Lewis agreed.
"We'll leave the matter to the boys," he said. "They'll be the ones
who will have charge of taking the pictures. And let me say that you
can rely on them."
"You haven't said that we can go yet," remarked Bob. "How about our
mothers? Will they consent?"
"Yes," Mr. Lewis answered. "They finally agreed. We were planning to
make it a surprise later."
"What!" cried Bob, while Joe gasped in astonishment.
"Fine!" blurted out Joe, after he had regained his breath. "We don't
know how to thank you enough. And I'll be more than glad to accept
this offer to take the movies. Bob will, too, I'm sure."
"All right," Mr. Weslowe said. "Here's a pen. You men, as the ones in
charge of the expedition, must sign here."
They did as directed, and then the representatives prepared to depart.
"The film, machine, and other equipment will be here inside of a
week," Mr. Duncan said. "And you'll find it as simple as we
explained."
Then they took their leave.
"A chance to make some money," said Mr. Lewis to the youths, as they
seated themselves on the porch awaiting the evening meal.
"Yes," said Bob. "And I know we'll find it interesting."
"What kind of a camera do you suppose they'll furnish?" Joe asked.
"Probably the small, simple kind that requires no tripod. All you do
is press a button and the film is automatically exposed. But you'll
have to follow the instructions closely or the whole thing will be a
total failure. And to a certain extent, Mr. Holton and I will be held
responsible."
Practically all of the next day was spent in the business district
purchasing various articles to be used on the coming great adventure.
In the evening when they returned home they were satisfied with
everything they had bought. Bob and Joe were especially delighted with
the new rifles that their fathers presented them, for they were of the
very latest design.
"I suppose they'll bring down anything," said Bob, in reference to the
guns.
"Anything but elephants, rhinos, and the like that have extremely
tough hides," his father answered. "You needn't fear them, though, for
we won't come across them in South America."
"What is considered the most dangerous game of that continent?" asked
Joe.
"The jaguar, generally," was the response. "He sometimes attains a
length of nearly six feet and is extremely powerful. He has been known
to attack a mustang, swim with it across a river, and place it in the
thick bushes. Again he has been seen to open fish and heavy turtles
with his powerful claws."
"Poisonous snakes are also dangerous," said Mr. Lewis, "although they
seldom attack a man without first being disturbed."
"There's a remedy for every such bite, isn't there?" inquired Joe.
"Yes. That is, for nearly every one. The strange part of it is that
one antidote may be totally ineffective against one kind of poison,
while it has effect on another. You see there are several types or
classes of venomous reptiles, and each has a different type of poison.
Hence several antidotes have to be carried so as to take no chances."
"Anacondas are not poisonous, are they?" asked Joe.
"No," replied Mr. Holton. "They are constrictors, that kill their
victims by crushing them to death. Another name for them is 'water
boa,' because they are found near a stream or mud hole. You boys
probably know that they are among the world's largest snakes, often
being thirty feet in length and thicker than a man's leg. They are
capable of crushing an ox to death, and often tear up small trees by
the roots."
Joe shuddered.
"I don't think I'd care to meet one of them," he said. "Especially
since I'm not an excellent shot like you and Dad."
"And Bob," added Mr. Lewis. Really Bob was not far behind the
naturalists in marksmanship.
After the preparations for the trip were fully completed, the youths
and their fathers rested, for the coming venture was to be a tiresome
one, and it was wholly unwise to use too much of their energy that was
to be so much needed later.
Meanwhile reconstruction work was being done on Mr. Lewis's garage,
and the workmen promised to have the task completed in three days.
"Won't have to worry about that," Bob assured his chum's father. "You
can just take it easy until the time comes to leave for Brazil."
Mr. Lewis nodded but found out later, as did Mr. Holton, that to rest
was impossible, much as they would have liked to. Frequent trips to
the museum had to be made, visits to various libraries were necessary,
and they found at last that a journey to Baltimore was inevitable. As
might be expected, they were greatly fatigued when, although every
matter was settled, only two days remained before the long mission
into the unknown.
That afternoon Professor Bigelow, a noted anthropologist who was to
be a part of the expedition, arrived at Mr. Holton's home, where he
was to remain until the expedition would leave. He was a rather small
man, with heavy gray hair and a swarthy complexion that the boys
rightly guessed was due to his many missions into strange lands to
study primitive people. He at once took a great liking to the youths,
and together they discussed many strange happenings, which the
professor related in breath-taking tales. He told of adventures in
darkest Africa, where many little-known clans of natives were studied.
He thrilled his listeners with stories of narrow escapes from the
Dyaks of Borneo, of journeys into Ecuador to investigate the savage
head-shrinkers, into India, Mongolia, Venezuela, islands of the South
Seas, and many other strange places. Yes, it was a great life--that
pursued by an anthropologist.
"Two more things I'd like to know," said Bob, the next afternoon.
"First, what food will we take along?"
"That is all arranged," his father replied. "A company in New York
packed our provisions in light tin containers that are airtight and
will float on water. You don't need to worry about our having enough,
for we took into consideration the possibility of a long, unexpected
delay. What's your other question?"
"This: Where do we sail from, New York? And on what ship?"
Mr. Holton gasped in astonishment.
"What!" he cried. "You don't know that yet? I thought we discussed
that matter several days ago."
"If you did, I wasn't there," Bob returned, grinning. "We've been so
busy with preparations that I haven't given it a thought."
"All right, I'll tell you. We sail from New York on the steamer
_Empire_, a vessel of ten thousand tons. It is scheduled to arrive in
Macapá, which is several miles inland on the Amazon, in twelve days.
Fairly good time, considering a stop at the West Indies."
At frequent intervals Mrs. Holton and Mrs. Lewis expressed the desire
for their sons to give up the thought of accompanying the expedition,
but the boys did their best to convince their mothers that, while
there were dangers attached, they were not as numerous as one might
think.
"Come to think of it, you can't blame them, though," said Joe. "We're
rather inexperienced in the art of exploring."
"We'll come through all right," Bob assured him. "Oh! How I wish the
time would pass quicker!"
Despite Bob's desire, the great day of leaving took its time in
coming. But when it did arrive, everyone was in readiness.
"Weather's cool and the sky's clear," observed Joe, as he and Bob
lugged their belongings out to the front porch of Bob's home, where
the members of both households were to gather before the party would
leave.
"Just the right temperature," declared Mr. Holton, who had moved up in
time to hear his son's chum.
The train was to leave for New York at ten o'clock and the party
barely had time to get breakfast and prepare themselves and their
possessions, which, by the way, included the motion-picture cameras
and several thousand feet of film, sent ahead by the Neuman Film
Corporation.
Bob and Joe--and the others to a less degree--had studied the
instructions on how to take motion pictures and felt that it would be
an easy matter to carry them out.
Shortly after breakfast Mrs. Holton and Mrs. Lewis drove the family
cars out in front, and the others carried out their belongings and got
inside.
"The last we'll see of good old Washington for several months to
come," sighed Joe, as he cast a final look at the homes they were
leaving behind.
There were tears in the eyes of Mrs. Lewis and Mrs. Holton as they
gave the youths and their fathers a warm farewell. Professor Bigelow
also took part in the leave-taking, for he was well liked by all.
Bob's smaller brother and Joe's sister gave tender good-byes, and with
one last adieu the adventurers made their way down the platform and to
the New York Limited.