CHAPTER IX
"FORWARD MARCH!"
"You don't say so!" exclaimed the young inventor, when Ned had toldhim the queer news. "Well, do you know I've been suspicious of thatfellow ever since he tried to make friends with us."
"Suspicious? How so? You don't think--"
"Oh, I mean I think he's some kind of a confidence man who hasadopted the respectable clothes of a minister to fool people. He maybe a card sharper himself. Well, we won't have anything more to dowith him. It won't be long before we arrive at Buenos Ayres, andthen we won't be bothered with card sharpers or anybody else but--"
"Giants and fighting natives," finished Ned, with a laugh. "Youforget, Tom, that there's a war going on near the very place we'reheaded for."
"That's so, Ned. But with what we have with us I guess we can makeout all right. I'm going to have the electric rifles handy theminute we start for the interior."
The voyage continued, and was fast drawing to a close. "Mr.Blinderpool" made several more attempts to strike up a friendshipwith Tom, or his chum, but they were on their guard now, and,failing to get into much of a conversation with the two young men,the pretended clergyman turned his attentions to Mr. Damon.
That eccentric gentleman welcomed him at first, until a quiet hintfrom Tom brought that to an end.
"Bless my fire shovel!" cried Mr. Damon. "You don't say so! Not aclergyman at all? Dear me!"
And then, getting desperate, and needing very much to learn how longa journey his rivals were to undertake, so that he, too, mightprepare for it, Mr. Hank Delby, alias Blinderpool, began to "pump"Eradicate.
But the latter was too sharp for him. Well knowing that a white manwould not get suddenly friendly with one of the black race unlessfor some selfish object, Eradicate fairly snubbed the seemingminister, until that worthy had to go off by himself, saying bitterthings and casting black looks at our friends.
"But I'll get ahead of them yet!" he muttered, "and I'll get theirgiants away from them, if they capture any."
The box on which Tom set such an importance, and which had so nearlybeen the cause of a disaster, had been stored in one of the fire-proofcompartments of the ship, and now, as a few days more would seethe vessel entering the harbor of the Rio de la Plata, thence tosteam up to the ancient city of Buenos Ayres, Tom and the othersbegan to think of what lay before them.
"How do you propose to head into the interior?" asked Mr. Damon oneafternoon, when the captain announced that the following morningwould see them nearly opposite Montevideo.
"I'm going to hire a lot of burrows, donkeys or whatever they havedown here that answers the purpose," replied Tom. "We have a lot ofthings to transport, and I guess pack mules would be the best, if wecan get them. Then I've got to hire some drivers and some porters,camp-makers and the like. In fact we'll have quite a party. I guessI'll need ten natives, and a head man and with ourselves we'll befifteen. So we'll need plenty of food. But then we can get that aswe go along, except when we get away into the interior, and thenwe'll have to hunt it ourselves."
"That's the stuff!" cried Ned. "We haven't had a good huntingexpedition since we went to elephant land, Tom. The electric rifleswill come in handy here."
"Yes, I expect they will. Now come on, Ned, and help me get a listready of the things we've got to take with us, and how they can bestbe divided up."
Thick weather delayed the ship somewhat, so it was not until eveningof the next day that they made Montevideo, where part of the cargowas to be discharged. As they would lay over there a day, the boysdecided to go ashore, which they did, wondering at the strangesights in the old city.
Tom watched to see if the pretended minister would land, andendeavor to force his acquaintance, but Mr. Hank Delby, to give himhis right name, was not in evidence. In fact he was turning overscheme after scheme in his mind in order to hit on one that wouldenable him to take advantage of the preparations which had been madeby his rival in the circus business.
"I've just got to get a line on where those giants are to be found,"mused Mr. Delby, in the seclusion of his stateroom, "even if I haveto take some other disguise and follow that Swift crowd. That's whatI'll do. I'll put on some other disguise! I wonder what it hadbetter be?"
Tom and Ned, to say nothing of Mr. Damon and Eradicate, found muchto interest them in the capital of Uruguay, and they were rathersorry, in a way, when it was time for them to leave.
"But we'll see plenty more strange sights," remarked Tom, as thesteamer started off for Buenos Ayres. "In fact our trip hasn'treally begun yet."
In due time they dropped anchor at the ancient city, and then begana series of confused and busy times. In fact there was so much todo, seeing to the unloading of their stuff, arranging for hotelaccommodations, seeing to hiring natives for the expedition into theinterior, and other details, that Tom and his friends had no time tothink anything about the pretended clergyman who had caused them alittle worry.
Eventually their belongings were stored in a safe place, and ourfriends sat down to a good dinner in a hotel that, while it was infar-off South America, yet was as good as many in New York, and, insome respects the boys, and Mr. Damon, liked it better.
They found that the Spanish and Portuguese languages were theprincipal ones spoken, together with a mixture of the nativetongues, and as both Ned and Tom, as well as Mr. Damon, had aworking knowledge of Spanish they got along fairly well. Some of thehotel people could speak English.
Tom made inquiries and found that the best plan would be totransport all his stuff by the regular route to Rosario, on theParana river in Argentina, and there he could make up his packtrain, hire native carriers, and start for the interior.
"Then we'll do that," he decided, "and take it easy until we get toRosario."
It took them the better part of a week to do this, but at last theywere on the ground, and felt for the first time that they werereally going into a wild and little explored country.
"Are you going to stick to the Parana river?" asked Ned.
"No," replied Tom, in the seclusion of their room, "if there are anygiants they will be found in some undiscovered, or at least littletraveled, part of the country. I don't believe they are in thevicinity of the big rivers, or other travelers would have heardabout them, and, as far as we know, Mr. Preston's animal agent isthe only one who ever got a trace of them. We'll have to go into thejungle on either side of the river."
"Bless my walking stick!" cried Mr. Damon. "Have we really to gointo the jungle, Tom?"
"I'm afraid we have, if we want to get any giants, and get a traceof Mr. Poddington."
"All right, I'm game, but I do hope we won't run into a band offighting natives."
In Rosario it was learned that while the "war" was not regardedseriously from the fact that the fighting tribes were far inland,still it was going on with vigor, and large bands of natives wereroaming about, stealing each others' cattle and horses, burningvillages, and taking captives.
"I guess we're in for it," remarked Tom grimly. "But I'm not goingto back out now."
Unexpected complications, difficulties in the way of getting theright kind of help, and a competent man to take charge of the nativedrivers, so delayed our friends that it was nearly two weeks aftertheir arrival in Rosario before they could start for the interior.
Of course the object of the expedition was kept a secret, and Tomlet it be known that he and his friends were merely exploring, andwanted rare plants, orchids, or anything in that line. The nativeswere not very curious.
At last the day for the start came. The mules, which had been hiredas beasts of burdens, were loaded with boxes or bales on eitherside, the natives were marshalled into line. Tom, Ned, and Mr.Damon, each equipped with a rifle had a saddle animal to ride, andEradicate was similarly equipped, though for a weapon he depended ona shotgun, which he said he understood better than the electricrifles.
The aeroplane, divided into many small packages, the goods forbarter, their supplies, stores, ammunition, and the box
of which Tomtook such care--all these were on the backs of the beasts of burden.Some food was taken along, but for a time, at least, they coulddepend on scattered towns or villages, or the forest game, for theireating.
"Are we all ready?" called Tom, looking at the rather imposingcavalcade of which he was the head.
"I guess so," replied Ned. "Let her go!"
"Bless my liver pad!" gasped Mr. Damon. "If we've got to start doit, and let's get it over with Tom."
"All ready, Rad?" asked the colored man's young master.
"All ready, Massa Tom. But I mus' say dat I'd radder hab Boomerangdan dish yeah animal what I'm ridin'."
"Oh, you'll do all right, Rad. Then, if we're all ready, forwardmarch!" cried Tom, and with calls to their animals, the driversstarted them off.
Hardly had they begun the advance than Ned, who had been narrowlywatching one of the natives, hurried up to Tom, and rapidlywhispered something to his chum.
"What?" cried Tom. "Armed with a six-shooter, is he? Well, we'll seeabout that! Halt!" he cried in Spanish, and then he called San Pedrothe head mule driver, to him.
Tom Swift in Captivity, Or, A Daring Escape By Airship Page 9
