TOM MAKES A PROMISE
It may well be imagined that the cable warning sent by Mr. Illingway
caused our friends considerable anxiety. Coming as it did, almost at
the last minute, so brief--giving no particulars--it was very
ominous. Yet Tom was not afraid, nor did any of the others show
signs of fear.
"Bless my shotgun!" exclaimed Mr. Damon, as he looked at the few
words on the paper which Tom passed around. "I wish Mr. Illingway
had said more about the head-hunters--or less."
"What do you mean?" asked Ned.
"Well, I wish he'd given us more particulars, told us where we might
be on the lookout for the head-hunters, what sort of chaps they
were, and what they do to a fellow when they catch him."
"Their name seems plainly to indicate what they do," spoke Mr. Swift
grimly. "They cut off the head of their enemies, like that
interesting Filipino tribe. But perhaps they may not get after you.
If they do--"
"If they do," interrupted Tom with a laugh, "we'll hop in our
dirigible balloon, and get above THEIR heads, and then I guess we
can give a good account of ourselves. But would you rather Mr.
Illingway had said less about them, Mr. Damon?"
"Yes, I wish, as long as he couldn't tell us more, that he'd kept
quiet about them altogether. It's no fun to be always on the lookout
for danger. I'm afraid it will get on my nerves, to be continually
looking behind a rock, or a tree, for a head-hunter. Bless my comb
and brush!"
"Well, 'forewarned is forearmed,'" quoted Ned. "We won't think
anything more about them. It was kind of Mr. Illingway to warn us,
and perhaps the head-hunters have all disappeared since that white
traveler was after the city of gold. Some story which he told his
friends, the natives in Africa, is probably responsible for the
missionary's warning. Let's check over our lists of supplies, Tom,
and see if we have everything down!"
"Can't you do that alone, Ned?"
"Why?" and Ned glanced quickly at his chum. Mr. Damon and Mr. Swift
had left the room.
"Well, I've get an engagement--a call to make, and--"
"Enough said, old man. Go ahead. I know what it is to be in love.
I'll check the lists. Go see--"
"Now don't get fresh!" advised Tom with a laugh, as he went to his
room to get ready to pay a little visit.
"I say, Tom," called Ned after him. "What about Eradicate? Are you
going to take him along? He'd be a big help."
"I know he would, but he doesn't want to go. He balked worse than
his mule Boomerang when I spoke about an underground city. He said
he didn't want to be buried before his time. I didn't tell him we
were going after gold, for sometimes Rad talks a bit too much, and I
don't want our plans known."
"But I did tell him that Mexico was a great place for chickens, and
that he might see a bull fight."
"Did he rise to that bait?"
"Not a bit of it. He said he had enough chickens of his own, and he
never did like bulls anyhow. So I guess we'll have to get along
without Rad."
"It looks like it. Well, go and enjoy yourself. I'll wait here until
you come back, though I know you'll be pretty late, but I want to
make sure of our lists."
"All right, Ned," and Tom busied himself with his personal
appearance, for he was very particular when going to call on young
ladies.
A little later he was admitted to her house by Miss Mary Nestor, and
the two began an animated conversation, for this was in the nature
of a farewell call by Tom.
"And you are really about to start off on your wild search?" asked
the girl. "My! It seems just like something out of a book!"
"Doesn't it?" agreed Tom. "However, I hope there's more truth in it
than there is in some books. I should hate to be disappointed, after
all our preparation, and not find the buried city after all."
"Do you really think there is so much gold there?"
"Of course there's a good deal of guesswork about it," admitted the
young inventor, "and it may be exaggerated, for such things usually
are when a traveler has to depend on the accounts of natives."
"But it is certain that there is a big golden image in the interior
of Africa, and that it came from Mexico. Mr. Illingway isn't a
person who could easily be deceived. Then, too, the old Aztecs and
their allies were wonderful workers in gold and silver, for look at
what Cortez and his soldiers took from them."
"My! This is quite like a lecture in history!" exclaimed Mary with a
laugh. "But it's interesting. I wonder if there are any SMALL,
golden images there, as you say there are so many in the underground
city."
"Lots of them!" exclaimed Tom, as confidently as though he had seen
them. "I'll tell you what I'll do, Mary. I'll bring you back one of
these golden images for an ornament. It would look nice on that
shelf I think," and Tom pointed to a vacant space on the mantle.
"I'll bring you a large one or a small one, or both, Mary."
"Oh, you reckless boy! Well, I suppose it WOULD be nice to have two,
for they must be very valuable. But I'm not going to tax you too
much. If you bring me back two SMALL ones, I'll put one down here
and the other--"
She paused and blushed slightly.
"Yes, and the other," suggested Tom.
"I'll put the other up in my room to remember you by," she finished
with a laugh, "so pick out one that is nicely carved. Some of those
foreign ones, such as the Chinese have, are hideous."
"That's right," agreed Tom, "and I'll see that you get a nice one.
Those Aztecs used to do some wonderful work in gold and silver
carving. I've seen specimens in the museum."
Then the two young people fell to talking of the wonderful trip that
lay before Tom, and Mary, several times, urged him to be careful of
the dangers he would be likely to encounter.
Tom said nothing to her of the head-hunters. He did not want to
alarm Miss Nestor, and then, too, he thought the less he allowed his
mind to dwell on that unpleasant feature of the journey, the less
likely it would be to get on the nerves of all of them.
Ned was right when he predicted that Tom would make quite a lengthy
visit. There was much to talk about and he did not expect to see
Mary again for some time. But finally he realized that he must
leave, and with a renewed promise to bring back with him the two
small gold images, and after saying good-bye to Mr. and Mrs. Nestor,
Tom took his leave.
"If you get marooned in the underground city, Tom," said Mr. Nestor,
"I hope you can rig up a wireless outfit, and get help, as you did
for us on Earthquake Island."
"I hope so," answered our hero with a laugh, and then, a little
saddened by his farewell, and pondering rather solemnly on what lay
before him--the dangers of travel as well as those of the
head-hunters--Tom hastened back to his own home.
The young inventor found Ned busy over the list of supplies,
diligently checking it and comparing it with the one originally made
out, to see that nothing had been omitted. Mr. Damon had gone to his
room, for he was to remain at the Swift house until he left with the
gold-hunting expedition.
"Oh, you've got back, have you?" asked Tom's chum, with a teasing
air. "I thought you'd given up the trip to the city of gold."
"Oh, cheese it!" invited Tom. "Come on, now I'll help you. Where's
Eradicate? I want him to go out and see that the shop is locked up."
"He was in here a while ago and he said he was going to look after
things outside. He told me quite a piece of news."
"What was it?"
"It seems that the Foger house has been sold, the furniture was all
moved out to-day, and the family has left, bag and baggage. I asked
Rad if he had heard where to, and he said someone down in the
village was saying that Andy and his father have engaged passage on
some ship that sails day after to-morrow."
"Day after to-morrow!" cried Tom. "Why, that's when ours sails! I
hope Andy didn't hear enough of our plans that night to try to
follow us."
"It would be just like him," returned Ned, "but I don't think
they'll do it. They haven't enough information to go on. More likely
Mr. Foger is going to try some new ventures to get back his lost
fortune."
"Well, I hope he and Andy keep away from us. They make trouble
everywhere they go. Now come on, get busy."
And, though Tom tried to drive from his mind the thoughts of the
Fogers, yet it was with an uneasy sense of some portending disaster
that he went on with the work of preparing for the trip into the
unknown. He said nothing to Ned about it, but perhaps his chum
guessed.
"That'll do," said Tom after an hour's labor. "We'll call it a
night's work and quit. Can't you stay here--we've got several spare
beds."
"No, I'm expected home."
"I'll walk a ways with you," said Tom, and when he had left his chum
at his house our hero returned by a street that would take him past
the Foger residence. It was shrouded in darkness.
"Everybody's cleared out," said Tom in a low voice as he glance at
the gloomy house. "Well, all I hope is that they don't camp on our
trail."