THE PROFESSOR TRIUMPHS.
Within ten minutes the last of them had mounted the ladder and gained
the open night. All about them the huts of the village showed blackly
in the starlight. They soon perceived that they stood at some distance
from the central stone building, and that their place of captivity had
been underground as they had surmised.
But although they had escaped from their prison they were still in
fearful danger. Even as they waited there, a tall form, that of a
sentry, strode around the corner of the building. In two bounds
“red-jacket” was on him. He must have been possessed of huge strength,
for the fellow went down like a nine-pin with the interpreter on top of
him. When the latter arose the sentry lay quite still.
“You ain’t killed him, have you?” asked the captain as the interpreter
rejoined the group.
“He says that if he has, it’ll be blamed on us,” the captain translated
to his companions when the interpreter had whispered his reply.
“That’s fine,” muttered Tom; “a good beginning I must say.”
But their guardian was motioning to them to follow him. He had replaced
the grating and concealed the rope ladder in some brush and rocks that
grew near by. As they silently crept after their guide down a street of
huts, they were all conscious of choking heart-beats and pulses that
throbbed with uncomfortable rapidity. The slightest false step might
bring the whole village down on them.
In this way they reached the end of the street and saw before them
something that made them choke with delight. It was the huge, bulking
outline of the _Wondership_. There she stood, seemingly as safe and
sound as when they had left her.
With a whispered word to the captain that he had done all he dared,
their guide left them here and slipped off among the shadows.
“The game is in our own hands now,” whispered the captain as they crept
forward. “Go as silent as cats and we’re all right.”
On tip-toe, hardly daring to draw breath, they crept on toward the
_Wondership_. It was like carrying a lighted torch above a pit full of
dynamite. At any instant an explosion that would prove fatal to them
all was liable to happen.
And suddenly it did.
As ill-luck would have it, one of Chekla’s subjects, either for
hygienic or other reasons, had chosen to sleep out of doors that night.
Tom’s foot struck him in the ribs, and with a yell that might have been
heard a mile off the man sprang to his feet. Shouting at the top of his
voice, he made for the village.
“Wow-ow! Now the fat’s in the fire!” gasped the skipper aghast at this
unforeseen calamity. “Jack, if you can’t git that craft inter the air
in five seconds or less, we’re gone coons!”
They set off on a run for the craft. All attempt at secrecy was useless
now. It was simply a race against time. From the aroused village came a
perfect babel of yells and shouts. Lights flashed. Savage imprecations
resounded. The whole place was astir like a disturbed bee-hive.
Into the machine they tumbled helter-skelter. Jack switched on one of
the shaded lights, pulled a lever and the welcome chug-chug of the gas
pump responded. The _Wondership_ swayed and pitched.
“Let ‘er go!” shouted the captain as from the village a mass of yelling
savages came rushing down on them.
“Hold on!” shouted the young commander of the flying auto. “Where’s
Tom?”
“Great Scott! Ain’t he here?”
“No!”
“Good Lord!” groaned the captain. “It’s all off now!”
But out of the darkness came a shout. It was Tom.
“Hold on. I’ll be with you.”
Then came the sounds of a struggle and the next instant they heard the
impact of a crunching blow, a yell of pain and a savage shout, “Take
that!”
“That’s Tom in action,” shouted the captain. “Come on, Tom!”
There was a rush of feet and the boy came bounding out of the darkness.
“Got lost in the shuffle!” he gasped.
“That’s all right,” shouted Mr. Chadwick, grabbing him; “in with you,
boy, quick!”
In tumbled Tom, half climbing and half-dragged. He lay on the floor in
a panting heap, while Jack swiftly raised the panels. This time they
worked, and they found out afterward that the temporary sticking that
had proved so disastrous was caused by the expansion of the metal in
the hot sun.
He was not an instant too soon. Hardly had the plates clanged together
with a metallic clash before the savages were on them. Captain Sprowl
opened a port in the “whaleback” superstructure and poured out a
murderous fire on the Indians before he could be checked.
“Warm work!” he cried, pumping away at the mechanism of the rifle.
From without, came yells and screams. Spears, darts and stones crashed
against the machine as if they would smash it to atoms. But in the
midst of the turmoil the fugitives felt a sudden upward lurch. So
sudden was it that they were all hurled into a heap. But they cared but
little for that. The _Wondership_ was going up, bearing them aloft to
safety!
As she shot upward, her machinery whirring bravely above the yells and
confusion below, Captain Sprowl turned to the others.
“A good Yankee cheer, boys!” he said.
In the deafening din that followed, the professor’s voice was heard
ringing out as loudly as any of them. It was the professor, too, who
cried out at the conclusion:
“Undt ein Tiger!”
* * * * *
But perhaps the cheers had been a little premature. It was getting
toward dawn when it became apparent to all on board that the
_Wondership_ was not behaving properly. Her engines revolved more and
more slowly. She began to make long swoops and dips.
“What in the world ails her?” demanded the captain.
“Don’t know,” rejoined Jack; “might be any one of a dozen things.
We’ll have to go down to fix her.”
“But it’s dark. You can’t land in the tree tops,” expostulated Mr.
Chadwick.
“I know that. I think I can manage to keep her going till daylight. If
not, we must take our chances.”
Soon after, the first pale light of dawn dimmed the stars. Beneath
them—they were heading due east—showed a river. By this time the craft
was almost without motion, although, of course, there was no fear of
her dropping, for her gas-bag supported her. But the wind was east, and
every minute that the engine remained idle, they were being carried
back toward the land of the tribe from which they had effected their
escape.
With what power remained, Jack brought the _Wondership_ to rest on the
surface of the river. She was at once made fast to the bank and the two
boys set to work on the engines. It did not take long to locate the
trouble. The air intake, by which a certain amount of air was mixed
with the explosive gas, had become clogged. To clean it out and put it
in good shape would have taken quite a time. Under the circumstances
they decided to have breakfast first and then get to work. During the
meal a bright lookout was kept and they ate cold stuff, not knowing
what hostile tribes might be about and not daring to light a fire.
It was toward the close of the meal that they were considerably
startled by loud shouts from a point not far distant. They came rapidly
nearer.
“Indians!” gasped Tom.
The rifles were brought from the machine and they awaited the oncoming
of the natives with grim determination. But the yells were soon
perceived to be those of terror rather than ferocity. As they came
closer, Captain Sprowl spoke with an air of authority.
“Those fellows, whoever they are, are running away from something or
somebody,” he said.
“May be a tribal war,” suggested Mr. Chadwick.
“Maybe. But hark, what in the ‘Tarnal is that?”
Upon the wind there came, loud above the Indians’ shrieks and cries, a
long-drawn noise like a yapping bark.
“Sounds like wolves!” cried Jack.
He had hardly spoken before through the woods, a short distance below
them, a number of Indians burst upon the river bank. They piled into
some canoes that the adventurers had not perceived hitherto but which
had been lying on the bank. Entering them they paddled off down the
stream in mad haste, as if in mortal fear of whatever was pursuing them.
The party were still watching them when again that queer bark
resounded, and from the forest, at just the point where the canoes had
lain, there burst an enormous animal, the like of which none of them
had ever beheld.
[Illustration: At the same instant, Jack’s rifle cracked.—_Page 297._]
It was larger than a big cow and ran with a queer, romping sort of
gait, suggestive of a rocking horse. Its head was flat and hideous. Its
color a dirty brownish white. A more repulsive looking creature could
hardly be imagined.
As his eyes fell on it, the professor gave a gasp. He shook from head
to foot as if he had been suddenly taken with a fit of the ague.
“Mein Gott in Himmel!” he gasped, and there was no irreverence in his
tone, “Der Megatherium!”
At the same instant, Jack’s rifle cracked. The creature gave a loud,
terribly human scream and swung toward them. Tom’s rifle barked and
with a crash the huge animal sank down in a heap on the river bank.
They rushed pell-mell upon it. The professor was yelling like a wild
man. The others were hardly less excited.
“Be careful,” warned Mr. Chadwick, as they approached, but the animal
was quite dead.
It lay on its side with its legs outstretched. On its feet were large
curved claws and its hair was as rough and coarse as that of the small
sloth they had shot some days before. As they stood by it, gazing with
a wonder in which there was something reverential at this survivor of
the age of the mammoth, the professor spoke.
“Chentlemen, ve are der only living beings besides de savages dot haf
efer seen such a sighdt. Poys! Der contracdt is ge-fulfilled!”
“Mumping mammoths of Mauretania, I’ll take a picture!” shouted Dick
Donovan by a happy inspiration. And there, by the side of that lonely
river, was taken the photo that has since been reproduced in countless
periodicals throughout the world.
* * * * *
And here, as you may easily guess, the adventures of the Boy Inventors
in Brazil practically came to an end. Soon after the discovery of
the giant sloth—which was a young and not fully grown specimen—the
engine was put in order and the trip to the coast resumed. Of course
the entire carcass was taken, in spite of the extra weight which the
_Wondership_ bore bravely. Every hair of the beast was precious in the
professor’s estimation. When the camp was reached (where they found
Judkins peaceably awaiting their return, and very much better) the
carcass was skinned, and the flesh boiled from the bones, which were
later articulated.
After a day or two in the camp, to allow the professor time to complete
his work, they all set sail for the nearest town, Bahia de Santos, five
hundred miles to the north. With the discovery of the giant sloth, even
though it was not an adult specimen, the professor’s task of proving
that such creatures still roam the earth, was completed.
In Bahia de Santos they found a small fruit steamer bound for New
Orleans. An arrangement was soon made by which they were accepted as
passengers and the _Wondership_, that had done them such good service,
traveled as freight on the steamer’s deck.
There was a wireless telegraph at Bahia, and this was kept hot for a
time conveying to friends news of their safety and of the professor’s
great discovery. At Bahia, too, they learned that both the boat-loads
of mutineers had been picked up a short way down the coast, and,
with a luck they ill deserved, they had all managed to find berths
on different ships and were scattered far beyond the reach of the
authorities. As the _Valkyrie_ was amply insured, the professor had no
desire to pursue them and there the matter rested.
As to the diamonds, they fetched a surprising price in the States,
and the boys decided to employ their share of them in constructing a
new invention with which they seem destined to have some astonishing
adventures. What this new invention of the ingenious lads proved to be,
and how they used it, must be saved for the telling in another volume.
Judkins was suitably recompensed and a good job was found for him on a
steamship line in which Mr. Chadwick happened to be interested. Captain
Sprowl was made independent by his share of the diamonds. As for Dick
Donovan, his story of the finding of the Giant Sloth made him famous
overnight. He now commands a big salary, but nothing so exciting as his
trip to the Amazon country has engaged his attentions since. He and
the boys have become fast friends and he is a frequent visitor to High
Towers.
And now we will say “Good-bye” to the Boy Inventors, wishing them well
till we meet them again in the next book to be devoted to their doings.
THE END.
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Transcriber's Notes
Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations
in hyphenation have been standardised but all other spelling and
punctuation remains unchanged.
Italics are represented thus _italic_.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Boy Inventors' Flying Ship, by Richard Bonner