IN GIANT LAND
When it first became sure that San Pedro and the other natives had
deserted--fled in the night, for fear of the giants--there was a
reactionary feeling of despondency and gloom among Tom and his three
friends. But the boldness and energy of the young inventor, his
vigorous words, his determination to proceed at any cost to the
unknown land that lay before them--these served as a tonic, and
after a few moments, Ned, Mr. Damon, and even Eradicate looked at
things with brighter spirits.
"Do you really mean it, Tom?" asked Ned. "Will you go on to giant
land?"
"I surely will, if we can find it. Why, we found the city of gold
all alone, you and Mr. Damon and I, and I don't see why we can't
find this land, especially when all we have to do is to march
forward."
"But look at the lot of stuff we have to carry!" went on Ned, waving
his hand toward the heap of packs that the mule drivers had left
behind.
"Bless my baggage check, yes!" added Mr. Damon. "We can never do it.
Tom. We had better leave it here, and try to get back to
civilization."
"Never!" cried Tom. "I started off after a giant, and I'm going to
get one, if I can induce one of the big men to come back with me.
I'm not going to give up when we're so close. We can get more pack
animals, I'm sure. I'm going to have a try for it. If I can't speak
the language of these natives I can make signs. Come on, Ned, we'll
pay a morning visit to the chief."
"I'll come along," added Mr. Damon.
"That's right," replied the young inventor. "Rad, you go stand guard
over our stuff. Some of the natives might not be able to withstand
temptation. Don't let them touch anything."
"Dat's what I won't, Massa Tom. Good land a massy! ef I sees any ob
'em lay a finger on a pack I'll shoot off my shotgun close to der
ears, so I will. Oh, ef I only had Boomerang here, he could carry
mos' all ob dis stuff his own se'f."
"You've got a great idea of Boomerang's strength," remarked Tom with
a laugh, as he and Ned and Mr. Damon started for the big hut where
the chief lived.
"Do you really think San Pedro and the others left because they were
afraid of the giants we might meet?" asked Ned.
"I think so," answered his chum.
"Bless my toothpick!" gasped Mr. Damon. "In that case maybe we'd
better be on the lookout ourselves."
"Time enough to worry when we get there," answered the young
inventor. "From what the circus man said the giants are not
particularly cruel. Of course Mr. Preston didn't have much
information to go on, but--well, we'll have to wait--that's all. But
I'm sure San Pedro and the others were in a blue funk and vamoosed
on that account."
"Hey, Massa Tom!" suddenly called Eradicate. "Heah am a letter I
found on de baggage," and he ran forward with a missive, rudely
scrawled on a scrap of paper.
"It's from San Pedro," remarked Tom after a glance at it, "and it
bears out what I said. He writes that he and his men never suspected
that we were going after the giants, or they would never have come
with us. He says they are very sorry to leave us, as we treated them
well, but are afraid to go on. He adds that they have taken enough
of our bartering goods to make up their wages, and enough food to
carry them to the next village."
"Well," finished Tom. as he folded the paper, "I suppose we can't
kick, and, maybe after all, it will be for the best. Now to see if
the chief can let us have some mules."
It took some time, by means of signs, to make the chief understand
what had happened, but, when Tom had presented him with a little toy
that ran by a spring, and opened up a pack of trading goods, which
he indicated would be exchanged for mules, or other beasts of
burden, the chief grinned in a friendly fashion, and issued certain
orders.
Several of his men hurried from the big hut, and a little later,
when Tom was showing the chief how to run the toy, there was a sound
of confusion outside.
"Bless my battle axe!" cried Mr. Damon. "I hope that's not another
war going on."
"It's our new mules!" cried Ned, taking a look. "And some cows and a
bony horse or two, Tom. We've drawn a rich lot of pack animals!"
Indeed there was a nondescript collection of beasts of burden. There
were one or two good mules, several sorry looking horses, and a
number of sleepy-eyed steers. But there were enough of them to carry
all the boxes and bales that contained the outfit of our friends.
"It might be worse," commented Tom. "Now if they'll help us pack up
we'll travel on."
More sign language was resorted to, and the chief, after another
present had been made to him, sent some of his men to help put the
packs on the animals. The steers, which Tom did not regard with much
favor, proved to be better than the mules, and by noon our friends
were all packed up again, and ready to take the trail. The chief
gave them a good dinner,--as native dinners go,--and then, after
telling them that, though he had never seen the giants it had long
been known that they inhabited the country to the north, he waved
a friendly good-bye.
"Well, we'll see what luck we'll have by ourselves," remarked Tom,
as he mounted a bony mule, an example followed by Ned, Mr. Damon and
Eradicate, They had left behind some of their goods, and so did not
have so much to carry. Food they had in condensed form and they were
getting into the more tropical part of the country where game
abounded.
It was not as easy as they had imagined it would be for, with only
four to drive so many animals, several of the beasts were
continually straying from the trail, and once a big steer, with part
of the aeroplane on its back, wandered into a morass and they had to
labor hard to get the animal out.
"Well, this is fierce!" exclaimed Tom, at the end of the first day
when, tired and weary, bitten by insects, and torn by jungle briars,
they made camp that night.
"Going to give up?" asked Ned.
"Not much!"
They felt better after supper, and, tethering the animals securely,
they stretched out in their tents, with mosquito canopies over them
to keep away the pestering insects.
"I've got a new scheme," announced Tom next morning at breakfast.
"What is it? Going on the rest of the way in the aeroplane?" asked
Ned hopefully.
"No, though I believe if I had brought the big airship along I could
have used it. But I mean about driving the animals. I'm going to
make a long line of them, tying one to the other like the elephants
in the circus when they march around, holding each other's tails.
Then one of us will ride in front, another in the rear, and one on
each side. In that way we'll keep them going and they won't stray
off."
"Bless my button hook!" cried Mr. Damon. "That's a good idea, Tom!"
It was carried out with much success, and thereafter they traveled
better.
But even at the best it was not easy work, and more than once Tom's
friends urged him to turn back. But he would not, ever pressing on,
with the strange land for his goal. They had long since passed the
last of the native villages, and they had to depend on their own
efforts for food. Fortunately they did not have any lack of game,
and they fared well with what they had with them in the packs.
Occasionally they met little bands of native hunters, and, though
usually these men fled at the sight of our friends, yet once they
managed to make signs to one, who, informed them as best he could,
that giant land was still far ahead of them.
Twice they heard distant sounds of native battles and the weird
noise of the wooden drums and the tom-toms. Once, as they climbed up
a big hill, they looked down into a valley and saw a great conflict
in which there must have been several thousand natives on either
side. It was a fierce battle, seen even from afar, and Tom and the
others shuddered as they slipped down over the other side of the
rise, and out of sight.
"We'd better steer clear of them," was Tom's opinion; and the others
agreed with him.
For another week they kept on, the way becoming more and more
difficult, and the country more and more wild. They had fairly to
cut their way through the jungle at times, and the only paths were
animal trails, but they were better than nothing. For the last five
days they had not seen a human being, and the loneliness was telling
on them.
"I'd be glad to see even a two-headed giant," remarked Tom
whimsically one night as they made their camp.
"Yes, and I'd be glad to hear someone talk, even in the sign
language," added Ned, with a grin.
They slept well, for they were very tired, and Tom, who shared his
tent with Ned, was awakened rather early the next morning by hearing
someone moving outside the canvas shelter.
"Is that you, Mr. Damon?" he asked, the odd gentleman having a tent
adjoining that of the boys.
There was no answer.
"Rad, are you getting breakfast?" asked the young inventor. "What
time is it?"
Still no answer.
"What's the matter?" asked Ned, who had been awakened by Tom's
inquiries.
Before our hero had a chance to reply the flap of his tent was
pulled back, and a head was thrust in. But such a head! It was
enormous! A head covered with a thick growth of tawny hair, and a
face almost hidden in a big tawny, bushy beard. Then an arm was
thrust in--an arm that terminated in a brawny fist that clasped a
great club. There was no mistaking the object that gazed in on the
two youths. It was a gigantic man--a man almost twice the size of
any Tom had ever seen. And then our hero knew that he had reached
the end of his quest.
"A giant!" gasped Tom. "Ned! Ned, we're in the big men's country,
and we didn't know it!"
"I--I guess you're right, Tom!"
The giant started at the sounds of their voices, and then his face
breaking into a broad grin, that showed a great mouth filled with
white teeth, he called to them in an unknown tongue and in a voice
that seemed to fairly shake the frail tent.