"Oh, yes, some, but it didn"t amount to much. After a long time, and no end of trouble, I had a man locate a native named Zacatas, who was the head beater of the black men under Jake."
"Zacatas said that he and Jake and the others got safely to the Salado river section, but I knew that before, for that was where the fine shipment of animals came from. Then Jake got that tip about the giants, and set off alone into the interior to locate them, for all the natives were afraid to go. That was the last seen of poor Jake."
"Bless my fire shovel!" cried Mr. Damon. "What did Zacatas say became of the poor fellow?"
"No one knew. Whether he reached giant land and was killed there, or whether he was struck down by some wild beast in the jungle, I never could find out. The natives under Zacatas waited in camp for him for some time, and then went back to the Amazon region where they belonged. That"s all the news I could get."
"But I"m sure there are giants in the interior of South America, for Jake always knew what he was talking about. Now I want to do two things. I want to get on the trail of poor Jake Poddington if I can, and I want a giant--two or three of them if it can be managed."
"Ever since Jake disappeared I"ve been trying to arrange things to make a search for him, and for the giants, but up to now something has been in the way. I happened to mention the matter to my friend, Mr. Damon, and he at once spoke of you, Tom Swift."
"Now, what I want to know is this: Will you undertake to get a giant for me, rescue Jake Poddington if he is alive in the interior of South America, or, if he is dead, find out how it happened and give him decent burial? Will you do this, Tom Swift?"
There was a silence in the room following the dramatic and simple recital of the circus man. Tom was strangely moved, as was his chum Ned As for Mr. Damon, he was softly blessing every thing he could think of.
Tom looked out of the long, opened windows of the library. In fancy he could see the forest and jungles of South America. He saw a sluggish river flowing along between rank green banks, while, from the overhanging trees, long festoons of moss hung down, writhing now and then as the big water anacondas or boa constrictors looped their sinuous folds over the low limbs.
In fancy he saw dark-skinned natives slinking along with their deadly blow guns, and poisoned arrows. He thought he could hear the low growls and whines of the treacherous jaguars and see their lithe bodies slinking along. He saw the brilliant-hued flowers, saw the birds of gorgeous plumage, and listened in fancy to their discordant cries.
Then, too, he saw a lonely white man in a miserable native hut thousands of miles from civilization, waiting, waiting, waiting for he knew not what fate. Again he saw monstrous men stalking along--men who towered ten feet or more, and who were big and brawny. All this pa.s.sed through the mind of Tom in an instant.
"Well?" asked Mr. Preston softly.
"I"ll go!" suddenly cried the young inventor. "I don"t know whether I can get you a giant or not, Mr. Preston, but if it"s possible I"ll get poor Jake Poddington, dead or alive!"
"Good!" cried the circus man, jumping up and clasping Tom"s hand. "I thought you were that kind of a lad, after I heard Mr. Damon describe you. You"ve taken a big load off my heart, Tom Swift. Now to talk of ways and means! I"ll have a giant yet, and maybe I"ll get back the best man who ever shipped a consignment of wild animals, good Jake Poddington! Now to business!"
CHAPTER IV
"LOOK OUT FOR MY RIVAL!"
"You"ll go in an airship of course; won"t you, Tom?" asked Mr.
Damon, when they had pulled their chairs up around a library table, and Mr. Preston had taken some papers from his pocket.
"An airship? No, I don"t believe I shall," replied the young inventor. "In the first place, I"m a bit tired of scooting through the air so much, though it isn"t to be denied that it"s the quickest way of going. But in South America there are so many jungles that it will be hard to find a level starting ground for a take-off, after we land. Of course we could go up as a balloon, but this expedition is going to be different from any we were ever on before."
"How so?" asked Ned.
"Well, in the first place we"ve got to start at one end of a trail, and make careful inquiries all along the way. It isn"t like when we went for the city of gold. There we had to look for a certain ruined temple, which was the landmark. When we went after the platinum in Siberia we had to look for the place of the high winds, so I could use my air glider. But now we"re trying to locate a man who traveled on foot through the jungles, and if we went in an airship we might just miss the connecting link."
"So, I think the best way will be to do just as Mr. Poddington did--travel on foot or by horses and mules, and go slowly, making inquiries from time to time. Then we MAY get to giant land, we MAY find him."
"I don"t hope for all that," said the circus man, "but if you can only get some news of him it will be a relief. If he died peaceably it would be better than to be a captive among some of those savage tribes. It"s been a year now since I heard the last of him. But I agree with Tom that an airship won"t be much good in the jungle. You might take along a small one, if you could pack it, to scare the natives with. In fact it might be a good thing to show to the giants, if you find them."
"That is my idea," declared Tom. "I"ll take the Lark with me. That"s a mighty powerful machine for its size, and it can be taken apart in sections. It will carry three on a pinch, and I have had five in her with two auxiliary seats. I"ll take the Lark, and she may come in handy."
"When can you start?" asked Mr. Preston.
"As soon as we can fit out an expedition," answered Tom. "It oughtn"t to take long. I don"t have to build an air glider this time. It won"t take long to take the Lark apart. I haven"t finished work on my noiseless airship yet, but that can wait. Yes, we"ll be ready as soon as you want us to start, Mr. Preston."
"It can"t be too soon for me. I"ll deposit a certain sum in the bank to your credit, Tom, and you can draw on it for expenses. I"ll pay any amount to get word of poor Jake, to say nothing of having a giant for my circus. Now as to ways of getting there. Have you a large map of South America?"
Tom had one, and he and the others were pouring over it when Tom"s father came into the room.
"Well, well!" he exclaimed. "What"s this? What are you up to now, Tom, my boy? Mrs. Baggert said you took down the South American map.
What"s up?"
"Lots, dad? I"m going after giants this time!"
"Giants, Tom? Are you joking?"
"Not a bit of it, Mr. Swift," answered Mr. Damon. "Bless my check book! I believe if some one wanted the moon Tom Swift would try to get it for them."
Then Mr. Swift noticed the stranger present, and was introduced to the circus man.
"Is it really true, Tom," asked the aged inventor, when the story had been related, "are you going to have a try for giant land?"
"That"s what I am, dad, and I wish you were going along."
"No, Tom, I"m getting too old for that. But I did hope you"d stay home for a while, and help me work on my gyroscope invention. It is almost completed."
"I will help you, dad, as soon as I get back with a giant or two.
Who knows? maybe I"ll get one myself."
"What would you do with one?" asked Ned with a laugh.
"Have him help Eradicate," answered the young inventor. "Rad is getting pretty old, and he needs an a.s.sistant."
"But are these giants black?" asked Mr. Swift.
"That"s a point I don"t know," answered the circus man frankly.
"Jake didn"t say in his letter. They may be black, white or midway between. That"s what Tom has got to find out for us."
"And I"ll do it!" exclaimed our hero. "Now let"s see. I suppose the best plan would be to take a ship right to the Rio de la Plata, landing say at Buenos Ayres or Montevideo, and then organize an expedition to strike into the interior."
"Why don"t you do just as Mr. Poddington did?" asked Ned, "start from the Amazon and work south?"
"It would take too long," declared Tom. "We know that the giants are somewhere in the northern part of Argentina, or in Paraguay or Uruguay. Or they may be on the other side of the Uruguay river in Brazil. It"s quite a stretch of territory, and we"ve got to take our time exploring it. That"s why I don"t want to waste time working down from the Amazon. We"ll go right to Buenos Ayres, I think."
"That"s what I"d do," advised the old circus man. "Now I can give you some points on what to take, and how to act when you get there.
The South Americans are a queer people--very nice when treated right, but very bad if not," and then he told some of his experiences as a circus man in South America, for he had traveled there.
"I"d go again, if my business didn"t keep me here," he concluded, "for I"d ask nothing better than to hunt for giant land, or try to rescue poor Jake. But I can"t. I"m depending on you, Tom Swift."