REMARKABLE GROWTH OF UNITY
"We haven't heard from John for two days. I wonder if they have met with
any difficulties?" asked Will, as they were together the evening after
their trip to the hill and forest.
"John is very prudent, and a man of very extensive knowledge as a
campaigner. If they had met any disaster we should have known of it
before this."
"We ought to have had a telegraph line. That would keep us in touch with
the army," added Jim.
"Wireless telegraphy would be still better," responded Tom.
"But how about wireless telephones?"
"And if wireless telephones, why not wireless power?"
The Professor smiled, as one suggestion after the other was made. The
other boys smiled, too, at Jim's last suggestion that power might be
transmitted by wireless.
"That is going a little too far," said Will. "I can understand why
sounds can be sent, but power is another thing, it seems to me."
"I am afraid that is not a very logical conclusion," interposed the
Professor. "What is the difference between sound and power?"
"I should say that sound is a motion in the air," replied Will, "and
that power is motion----"
"In the air, too," continued the Professor. "That is not a very good
definition of the matter. Let us try and make it clear. Sound is
produced by vibration; the lowest number of vibrations the ear can
distinguish, is sixteen per second, which is known as the low bass notes
of an organ. The highest are, approximately, 12,000 per second. These
vibrations require power to produce them."
"Do you mean to say that all vibrations require power?"
"Yes; nature speaks to us only in the form of motion, or vibrations of
some sort. Light, heat, electricity, are merely different forms of
motion. Taste and smell, as well as sound, are merely modes of motion.
The beating heart; the winking of the eyelids; the rhythmic breathing of
the body; the swinging of the pendulum; the movement of the sap in trees
and the unfolding of the leaves; the light mists which go up and the
rains which bring the particles back again; the winds and the waves; and
the giant swings of the planets through space, all show how nature
performs her work through unceasing movement; and all these require
power."
"I remember," remarked Ralph, "about reading of a Hindoo fakir in India,
who claimed that he could bring to him an object ten thousand miles
away, in ten minutes of time. As that was motion it must have taken
considerable power to do it."
"That is easily determined," answered the Professor. "Ten thousand
miles would be 16.6 miles, per second, at that velocity. If the article
should be only one inch square it would take 18,000,000 horsepower to
transport it that distance in the time given. This calculation is
sufficient to show the absurdity of the Hindoo's statement."
Considering that the new community was one which had been recruited from
a people which had no ambition in life, except merely to live, the work
going on in every quarter was more remarkable every day. Tom came to the
Professor and remarked: "It would do you good to go down on street B and
see how the Saboros have fixed up their places."
This was a sufficient hint for him, and busy as he was, he sauntered in
that direction.
What he saw was, really, a surprise. Taking the hint from the sodding
operation which the women had noticed around the boys' quarters, he
found that they had actually borrowed the wheelbarrows and made some
nice lawns.
The Professor called in at the places, and congratulated them on the
beautiful appearances, and the nice manner in which the work was done
What a wonderful thing that was to those poor women, to see the Great
Chief take such notice of their work.
He went into the cottages, and examined every room, and suggested many
changes, and offered advice in the manner of keeping the houses clean,
and in taking care of the children. This work of beautifying their homes
was, of course, crude, but it had a remarkable stimulus to the others.
On every hand this was taken up. It was a spirit of emulation that was
worth encouraging.
When John left with the forces, the Professor consulted Blakely, and
ordered the erection of three larger and more pretentious cottages. Each
of these had five rooms, all plain, but arranged in good taste, and the
furniture was also being made, and the large number employed enabled
them to complete the buildings ready for furnishing before John's party
returned.
The working force was now ready to put up a still larger building. "Do
you know what this is for?" asked Ralph, as the timber was being taken
to the new location.
"I suppose this is to be the Town Hall," replied Will.
"No, indeed; it is the schoolhouse." And the boys laughed at the idea.
But it was an idea that was well considered and determined on, long
before John left on the expedition.
But the town was growing beyond all comprehension. Daily new families
arrived, and Blakely was the busiest man in the place, in his efforts to
find work for them, while the Professor and the boys were often at their
wits' end to know how and where they would house them. The Saboros were
the most numerous, followed by the Berees and Osagas. But now the
Kurabus were coming in--the families of the warriors with John.
The Chief Oroto saw and marveled at the sights. During the entire time
he had been there, he had never suggested the idea of returning. The
Kurabu medicine men who had been brought down with him, were still
under the charge of the Professor, and one day one of them accosted
Ralph in broken English.
He looked up in surprise. It was the first inkling that the so-called
wise men were being taught the language. Ralph had quite a conversation
with him, and reported the information to the boys.
How was this change brought about? The first step of the Professor was
to show the wise (?) men some of the mysterious things which the white
men could do. The battery, which the boys had made at Cataract, was one
of the instruments. Then he showed them the simple experiments in
chemistry; how ores were treated and metals extracted and tempered.
These things were so much more important and wonderful than anything
they could do or ever dreamed of, that when he told them they could do
those things, he had the most willing pupils. Hour after hour they would
perform some task, until they began to crave for new things. Then began
the work of instilling knowledge of the language as a part of their
education. They were taught how to communicate ideas by signs in the
English language, and thus the alphabet was taught.
A spirit of rivalry was exhibited among them, and it was so intense that
they had no further time for idleness or useless wanderings about the
place. It was no wonder that the boys saw so little of them when the
spirit once took possession of their energies.
Two of the men referred to had an undoubted aptitude for chemical
experiments, one of them, Talala, being exceptionally bright and quick
to grasp the meaning of an experiment. He usually accompanied the
Professor on all his rounds visiting the sick, because this was now an
imperative daily task on his part.
The thermometer was in frequent use and Talala understood its meaning.
Only the simplest remedies were used and administered, and the gathering
of the vegetables necessary for the making up of the remedies was a part
of the work of each. In this the natives had a pretty good knowledge,
but they knew nothing of making the extracts, or how to concentrate the
compounds.
Cinchona, the Peruvian bark, and calisaya, its sister, which furnish the
quinine of commerce, were well known to them, but they did not know how
the white man made it so more efficient than the crude product as used
by them.
He explained that by the use of an acid, like that furnished by sulphur,
a chemical change could be produced, whereby a single grain would be
more efficient than a dozen grains in the way they used it. This was
labeled "Sulphate of Quinine," and so on along the whole line of
remedies, he gave a term which they learned, and the reasons for it.
When John saw the wagon approaching he rushed out, followed by Uraso and
Muro. The rescued captives were in the wagon. Pending their arrival a
number of the warriors had cleaned out the large building--the one with
the Doric columns, which stood at right angles to the chief's house.
This structure appeared to be in the best state of preservation.
Another lot of the warriors took the wagon, and with their bolos
gathered a large quantity of the sweet grass from the hillside, and this
was brought to the building and arranged for the use of the chiefs and
John, and for the boys when they returned.
George was eager to tell of their adventure, and of the prisoners they
had brought with them. "We got three of the boys, but two of them are
very weak. We have a friend of yours, also."
"Who is it?" exclaimed John, just as eager as the boys could be.
"Wright; Gustave Wright."
John bounded into the wagon. Wright saw John, and feebly extended his
hand.
"I knew I would find you sooner or later," said John, as he put his arm
around him. "But we got you soon enough to save you. All you need is
something good to eat." And Wright smiled.
"Yes," he answered. "They haven't permitted me to take much so far; but
I guess they are all right. What a fine set of boys you have!"
"The finest in the world. Wait until you know them! But never mind about
talking now. And these are the boys? Poor fellows! What an experience
they must have had! Come on, men; get them out and make them as
comfortable as possible."
There were willing hands for every job. Muro was delighted at the rescue
of his friend. He was one of the most skillful and powerful warriors,
but he did not look like it at this time.
Inside the patients were ranged about the place, and the cooking stove
brought in from the wagon.
"I suppose I shall have to take charge of the kitchen," said George, as
he ordered it arranged in place and directed them where to put the
various articles. Before long the savory odor of the vegetables and game
reached the famished ones, and they begged for some of it.
"A little at a time," said George, soothingly. "I am doctor and cook,
and there is plenty here, of the best kind."
"Oh, doesn't that smell good!" exclaimed Min, joyously.
"That's the way I like to hear you talk," said Harry. "Your voice
doesn't seem starved. You'll be out in a couple of days, and be better
than ever."
"How long have you been in that place?" asked John.
"In that particular place, only about a month; but we were in a worse
place, still farther south, for about three months."
"Starving all the time?"
"Yes."
"I was moved to say that starving is a good thing, in its way, but it
has its limits, and four months is a little too long for either comfort
or health. You will find, however," continued John, "that you will be
much healthier for the experience, particularly if you have ever had
stomach troubles, as my friend Wright here has had all his life. Isn't
that so, Wright?"
"Do you think I have been to a health cure?" he asked.
"Certainly; the best kind, for one in your condition." And John laughed.
"Probably you took me away before the cure was effected; but as I always
was magnanimous, I shall forgive you this time."
There was a continuous fire of conversation, which cheered the patients,
and added greatly to their store of knowledge.
Harry, who had been outside, rushed in, and exclaimed excitedly:
"Did you have _Investigator's_ Lifeboat No. 3?"
"Yes," exclaimed the boys.
"Who wrote the note we found in it?"
"Did you find our boat? Where did you get it?" asked Robert.
"We found it on a river to the north of this place."
"How in the world did it ever get there?"
"But who wrote the note?"
"What note?"
"The message signed Will."
The boys looked at each other, as they all shook their heads.
"That is one of the mysteries which George and I thought you could
solve."
"Mysteries! Did you have many of them?"
"Many of them! We had over a dozen, and some of them are still on the
puzzle board. Do you remember Raggy, the drawing teacher? He always
liked to call some of our drawings the unsolved puzzles. I wonder where
he is? We had enough mysteries the first three months to supply
headaches for a year."
"We want to know about them."
"We'll tell you all about them; and some were mighty thrilling. We had
some just as exciting as any you ever read of in the last boys' series
that we had about two years ago."
"You see," said George, in a sage-like tone, "Harry and I don't read
books of that kind any more; we simply act them." And the boys, and men,
too, laughed at this sally.
"Stop your talking for a while and eat something," continued George.
"Good, but it's awful hot," said Min, as he puckered up his mouth and
drew in a breath of cool air.
"I made it hot so you wouldn't eat too fast," chuckled George.
Just then a great commotion was heard on the outside, and George, Harry
and Robert rushed for the door. Beyond the village a scrimmage was
taking place, and a few shots were fired.
John and Uraso were racing across the open place, and dozens of warriors
were following. Muro was seen as he emerged from the combatants, and he
was smiling as John came up.
"The reinforcements from the south village came too late. I suspected
they would be here, and I had a number of the men in wait for them. They
have captured all of them."
John nodded his head with approval at the course of Muro. The warriors
brought in the prisoners, who were astounded at the unexpected welcome
which awaited them. Forty-five were in the party. They were put under
guard with the others.
The utmost care was observed during the night, as the Illyas were known
to be very foxy, and half the force was detailed to keep guard.
Early in the morning John's first care was to make an investigation as
to the character of the provisions on hand, and to arrange that foraging
parties should be sent out to bring in vegetables.
He was surprised to learn that the Illyas cultivated many kinds of
garden products, and fruit was growing in abundance. This was found to
be a prudent thing to consider, when it will be remembered that the
village now had to feed over three hundred of the allies, and that the
penned-up Illyas were not in a position to go out and bring in the daily
supply.
The boys were fed at intervals during the night, but before four they
all felt so much restored that sleep overtook them, and John advised
them to permit sleep, as that would be the best restorer, and they were
not disturbed until they naturally awoke during the forenoon.
A plentiful supply of broth was prepared, and administered during the
day. But Harry and George were simply wild to explore the buildings. The
excitement had been too intense to enable them to give it much thought.
But now something must be known about the buildings and the reason for
their erection at that place.
John had questioned various ones about the buildings, but none seemed to
know anything concerning them. Uraso and Muro were just as much
surprised as the whites. Neither had known of the existence of a place
with such buildings.
It appears that the Illyas never allowed captives to be confined in the
village, and this was a wise thing; because the escape of anyone would
be sure to inform the other tribes of the existence of the Forbidden
City.
The remarkable thing about it, aside from the buildings, was the plan
upon which the town had been built. It was regularly laid out. There
were three main buildings; the first and largest being the one facing
the west, with the Doric front. The next largest had its front facing
the south, and this had Ionic columns. The third, and which was not
noticeable from a position west of the village, was smaller than either,
with a front of Tuscan architecture.
What did these buildings mean? By whom were they erected, and for what
purpose were they intended? These were questions ever uppermost in the
minds of John and the boys.