"It may be he"s hired some smart pickpocket to rub up against me when we get in the jam at leaving the train," Hiram told them, showing that his mind was active enough to grasp every sort of possibility, no matter how vague.
"We"ll checkmate him on that easily enough," chuckled Rob. "In the first place, we don"t mean to allow ourselves to get caught in any jam. When we draw into the station we"ll sit tight until most of the pa.s.sengers have left. Then Andy here can go and get the particulars as to where our train is standing that will take us South; for it"s all one Pennsylvania station, you know. And I"ll stick close to you every minute of the time."
"Yes," Andy went on to say, "you know we"ve got something in Rob"s grip that we have to "guard with unceasing vigilance," as Judge Collins said, because it is of priceless value in the eyes of scientists; and its safe delivery to the head of the exhibit at the Fair will mean we"ve earned our trip."
Later on, when they finally left the car, Andy hurried off to pick up the needed information. They had a whole hour before the scheduled time of starting came, so none of them were anxious with regard to being left.
Hiram stood there with his bag between his feet, looking to the right and to the left. He seemed to be in constant fear lest some astonishing surprise might be sprung upon him.
"There he is now, grinning at me like an ape, Rob!" he suddenly muttered, and his voice was certainly anything but firm.
"So, that is your Marsters, is it?" demanded the other, as he discovered a slim man standing at some little distance from them, and with a satirical smile on his dark face.
"Yes, and don"t you think he looks like he"d stop at nothing in order to get to the end he had in view?" asked Hiram.
"He looks like an impudent fellow to me," Rob advised, "and according to my mind he"s gone to all this bother just to feel that he"s had his nasty revenge on you for treating him so shabbily. To be beaten in a battle of wits by a mere boy must have riled Mr. Marsters a whole lot. Depend on it, he doesn"t expect to go any further than this in the game. He"s shot his bolt."
"What makes you think so, Rob?"
"The very fact that he"s taking all the pains to stand there and let you see him grinning like an imp," replied the scout leader. "Now, if he really meant to chase after you on the trip, don"t you see he would be doing everything he could to keep you from knowing he was around, and on the watch?"
Hiram, after he had been shown, began to see it that way, too.
"Seems as though there might be a good lot of truth in that view, Rob,"
he admitted. "So let him grin all he wants to. I"ll laugh, too, if only to show the feller that he hasn"t made me squirm a whit."
With that Hiram bent almost double, like a hinge, and seemed to be tickled half to death over some imaginary joke. He also turned and looked straight in the eyes of the man he had called Marsters, as if to let him know he did not care a snap of his fingers about his continued leering.
"You"ve settled his case, and cooked his goose for him," commented Rob, a minute later. "See, there he goes over yonder, and I"ll be a whole lot surprised if we set eyes on Marsters again."
"But, Rob, I"m determined to act as though I fully expected him to be creeping around all the time. I"m playing up to the old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth more"n a hull pound of cure."
"It"s a good idea," was all Rob told him, for just then he saw Andy hurrying toward them, and from his manner guessed the other must have obtained the needed information.
Once they were settled in the sleeping-car, Hiram began to feel better, though it might be noticed that he eyed every person who came aboard as though he more than half suspected the revengeful Marsters, baffled in securing the wonderful invention for his firm, might a.s.sume some marvelous disguise in order to be near the traveling genius, so as to rob him on the road.
"We"re off!" exclaimed Andy joyously, as the train started, drawn by an electric motor, and heading through the tunnel that would take them under the North River to Jersey, and thence across the Hackensack Meadows to Newark and beyond.
Everything looked bright and cheerful that morning when the three scouts began their long journey calculated to land them eventually inside the portals of the big Exposition on the Pacific Coast, and which was being held to commemorate the opening of the Panama Ca.n.a.l.
Certainly never before had Boy Scouts been enabled to start forth upon a trip of such magnitude, and under such happy auspices. With all their expenses paid, and the grandest possible time looming up ahead of them, it was not to be wondered at that Rob and his two chums counted themselves the luckiest fellows on the face of the globe.
All of them were fond of traveling, and that first day was a constant picnic for the scouts. It happened that Rob and Andy had been over the route before, since it was this way they had gone to Mexico when with Merritt Crawford and Tubby Hopkins. On that occasion they had undertaken the carrying out of that mission connected with the disposal of the cattle on the ranch Dr. Mark Matthews, the globe-trotter and explorer, owned across the Rio Grande, his old-time friend General Villa seeing that he was properly paid with the funds held by the Revolutionary party.[2]
This being the case, they were able to direct the attention of Hiram to many interesting objects on the way. Hiram had never been a hundred miles outside of Hampton in all his life; and therefore he stared and commented continually as the train rushed along through stretches of the country around Washington and beyond as the day drew near its close.
Remembering what Judge Collins, as well as the Scotch professor, had told them in connection with the contents of Rob"s grip, they kept it down at their feet constantly; for they had the whole section, Andy having promised to occupy the upper berth, as he knew Hiram would feel safer in company with Rob below.
"You haven"t seen anything suspicious the whole day long, have you, Hiram?" Rob asked him, as they prepared to go into the dining-car for their supper, two at a time, and the third staying to look after things, as well as keep his foot on the precious grip.
"Well, not that you could really call _suspicious_" admitted the other, "but seemed like several parties looked right hard at me as they pa.s.sed through agoin" to that meal car."
"Oh, shucks!" said Andy, leaning across from his seat to speak in a low tone, "that all comes from you being worked up the way you are. Chances are they must a" seen the budding genius breaking out all over your face in the shape of freckles, Hiram, and wondered who on earth you could be."
"Well, I always figger that it"s best to be on the safe side, no matter if other people do make out to snicker at you, and call you timid. It"s poor policy to shut the door of the stable after the hoss is stolen, my dad says; and your folks would agree with me there, Andy, seeing that they have a heap to do with hosses. Do I go in with you to grub, Rob, or wait here for my turn?"
"I leave that with Andy," Rob remarked indifferently; "if he feels too hungry to stay here for us to come back, let him take the first show.
Here comes the waiter to give the call."
Andy immediately said that it pleased him to wait and take his time.
"I like to be easy in my mind when I"m trying to get the worth of a big dollar in dinner," he continued, "and if I keep on thinking of you fellows counting the minutes while I"m gone, it hurries me too much; and that"s bad for your digestion, you know. So skip along, and I"ll hug the seat here till you get back. Make up your mind, Rob, everything will be safe enough. I"m Johnny on the spot when it comes to standing guard."
In this fashion all of them managed to get their supper. The night closed in and the full moon lighted up the wonderful scenery of the valleys they were speeding through, headed toward the southwest, and into the land of sugarcane, oranges, cotton and rice.
Hiram, when he could take his mind away from the fascinating prospect of doing a lucrative business with the enterprising firm that had invited him all the way out to the Coast, was full of questions regarding the wonderful things he expected to see later on when they reached a section of the country that was radically different from Long Island.
He had always wanted to visit the South, and this culmination of his hopes filled him with ecstasy. The presence of such a steady chum as Rob Blake did much to add to Hiram"s peace of mind, it can be readily believed; for he felt sure that no matter what troubles might spring up to confront him on the journey, the efficient scout leader would be equal to any emergency.
Hiram had the utmost confidence in Rob Blake. It was founded on what he had seen the other accomplish; and, besides, the things he had heard concerning that Mexican trip, as well as the journey across to the war zone of Europe, had added to his respect.
All that night they boomed steadily on.
Rob slept with Hiram in the lower berth, and occupied the side nearer the aisle, so as to ease the nervous chum"s mind as much as possible. Like most new and inexperienced travelers, Hiram hardly slept a wink that first night; much of the time he had the window-shade drawn back, and lay there staring at the ghostly objects that could be seen flitting past the window-cabins, trees, settlements, barns, orchards, rivers and all manner of things the ever speeding train was pa.s.sing in its wake.
When morning finally came they were so well along their way that the country had taken on a new aspect, and Hiram"s interest grew by leaps and bounds. What was more, since he could still feel that precious packet inside his coat, where he had at Rob"s solicitation pinned it inside his pocket, Hiram"s confidence became much stronger, and the anxious look began to leave his thin face.
CHAPTER VII.
ACROSS THE CONTINENT.
"We ought to be in Los Angeles inside of five hours, boys."
Hiram had kept his face glued against the window so much of the time during the long journey, when it happened to be closed, that Andy told him he was getting a distinct curve to his cla.s.sic Roman nose. He turned on hearing Rob make this a.s.sertion, after consulting the time-table.
"Well, for one, I must say I won"t be sorry," he admitted, with a sigh.
"But see here, I thought you were having the time of your life with all this traveling, and seeing so many wonderful sights?" expostulated Andy.
"That"s all right, I am," admitted Hiram. "Still, a feller can get too much of a good thing, can"t he? Haven"t you stuffed yourself more"n once because you liked the food first-cla.s.s, and then wished afterward you had gone slow? Fact is, I just can"t sleep while we"re ding-donging along like hot cakes. I want to be on a steady footing for a while, and go to bed like a civilized human being."
"But it"s been a great trip," said Andy. "Those Injuns at the stations in Arizona were real true-blood Zunis, all right. I"m mighty glad, though, we"ve made up our minds to go back by way of the Canadian Pacific road, so as to see what the picturesque Selkirks look like."
"Yes," added Rob, "I"ve read so much about the Rockies up in British America I want to see them with my own eyes. The weather will be a whole lot better than in the southern zone, where it"s terrible in summer."
"Oh! don"t let"s talk about coming back before we"ve even got there,"