"No, I don"t. What"s the matter with you, anyway?"
"Well, Jack, when you think of modern inventions, you think of the airplane and radio and steamers and locomotives and telephones, don"t you?"
"I suppose so."
"But, Jack, the savages know nothing about gla.s.s eyes and false teeth and toupees. And I"m sure the Incas don"t know anything about them, either."
Jack looked at Frank, puzzled.
"That"s right, Frank. But how can it benefit us?"
"Well, look here. Suppose we appeared before the Inca and his Council as a delegation from the fortress and demanded Prince Huaca"s release on pain of working our magic on the Inca and all his forces. Then we"d give them a demonstration. Your father has a little pointed beard. He could make up to look like a magician. He"d make a few pa.s.ses, utter some words in English--anything would confound them, as English is unknown to them--and then Pedro would pull out his teeth, Carlos would pluck out his eye, and Don Ernesto would scalp himself. Wouldn"t that just give them fits? Wouldn"t it just----"
But Jack"s bewildered expression had given way to one of mirth, uncontrollable mirth, and he laughed until he was weak, leaning back against the wall, his hands pressed to his aching sides. Frank, too, yielded to merriment, expostulating between spasms of laughter:
"You promised not to laugh, Jack. You promised."
The sound of their laughter reached Don Ernesto and Mr. Hampton, and they looked inquiringly toward its source; then, as the boys continued to go off into fresh gales of mirth, arose from the couch and approached them.
"What"s the joke, boys? Let us in on it," said Mr. Hampton, smiling.
"Oh, I can"t, Dad. I can"t speak. Ask Frank."
Jack was so weak he could hardly support himself. The ludicrous idea propounded by his friend, coming on top of his nervous strain, had induced a species of hysteria.
The two older men grinned in sympathy with the boys, although in the dark as to the cause of their laughter.
"Some boyish joke, I suppose," said Mr. Hampton, and was about to turn away, but Jack recovered himself sufficiently to lay a detaining hand on his arm.
"Wait a minute, Dad. Give me a chance to get my breath. You must hear this."
The two older men paused, expectant. Presently Jack recovered sufficiently to attempt an explanation.
"Frank there," he said, pointing to his still quaking comrade. And then he explained what Frank had proposed.
"I hope we won"t give you offense, Don Ernesto," he said, with quick compunction.
The latter, however, was a jolly sort. And he was struck with the originality of the idea. With a comical gesture he put his hand to his head, removed his toupee and held it aloft while Mr. Hampton, seeing what he was about, pulled a long face and made several mysterious pa.s.ses before him.
They had moved close to the table and stood revealed in the light of the rekindled lamp.
A wild shriek came from the doorway. They swung about startled, Don Ernesto still holding his toupee aloft. The shriek brought Bob and Ferdinand to the floor. Even Carlos and Pedro sprang upright on their couch.
"Great guns, I forgot the jailer was sitting over there," said Mr.
Hampton. "Look at him."
"Hurray," cried Frank. "It worked."
"What do you mean? What worked?"
It was Bob, rubbing his eyes.
Frank, however, paid him no attention.
"Look, look," he said, seizing Mr. Hampton"s arm. "He saw Don Ernesto scalp himself and he"s scared stiff."
"I believe you"re right, Frank," said Mr. Hampton, delightedly.
They hurried to the rec.u.mbent form. The jailer lay on his face, his hands up to his eyes, as if shutting out an horrific sight. He was moaning like a man in the extremity of terror.
"Let"s try the teeth and the false eye on him, too," said Frank, carried away with enthusiasm at the unexpected proof of the plausibility of his suggestion.
"No, no," protested Mr. Hampton. "The man is beside himself with terror now."
Bending down, he began to pat the fellow on the back, and endeavor to induce him to raise his head. Don Ernesto, meanwhile, restored his toupee. Presently, although Mr. Hampton knew no words in the other"s tongue, he had brought him back to some semblance of sanity. The jailer still trembling violently, was induced to get to his feet, but his hands were still to his eyes, as if he feared to gaze upon a terrible sight.
The room grew lighter. A glance toward the loopholes revealed the sky was becoming bright in the east.
"Look," said Jack, "it is dawn."
At that moment, while Mr. Hampton still patted the trembling form of the jailer, steps were heard in the corridor, and the flickering light of torches was reflected on the walls. Frank looked out.
"Here comes Michac with a bodyguard," he said. "Say----"
He faced the room, glancing at the others.
"What?" asked Jack.
"Let"s try the whole works on Michac and his escort."
CHAPTER XXI--TO GO OR NOT TO GO
Jack laughed with the others, but, sobering, said:
"I"d like to, Frank. But don"t you think it would be rather mean to frighten our friends?"
Mr. Hampton interrupted quickly.
"The thought does you credit, Jack. But there is something else to consider. I really believe Frank"s plan for aweing the Inca and his Council a good one. This is a matter of life and death. If the plan is to succeed it must be capable of thoroughly frightening these people and convincing them of our magical powers. And, as Michac and his escort are the same sort of people on whom our tricks would have to be tried in earnest, it is well to give a dress rehearsal, so to speak, and see what our luck will be."
"Here they come," said Frank, looking out the door.
"Very well," said Mr. Hampton, rapidly. "Pedro, Carlos, when I make mysterious signs and order you to remove your eye and teeth, do you do so as if unwillingly, but under compulsion. If you can grimace and pretend it pains you, so much the better. Ready. Here they are."
As Michac appeared in the doorway, Mr. Hampton faced Don Ernesto, Pedro and Carlos, who stood shoulder to shoulder. He acted as if the young n.o.ble and the half dozen soldiers behind him had not been seen. Waving his hands like a mesmerist, in the faces of the trio, he began reciting a rigmarole of whatever words came into his head.