CHAPTER III
TOM WILL GO
"Jove! That sounds interesting!" exclaimed Ned, as he settledhimself comfortably in his chair.
"It is interesting," replied the circus man. "At least I found it sowhen I first listened to one of my men tell it. But whether it ispossible to get to giant land, and, what is more bring away some ofthe big men, is something I leave to you, Tom Swift. After you haveheard my story, if you decide to go, I'll stand all the expenses offitting out an expedition, and if you fail I won't have a word tosay. If, on the other hand, you bring me back a giant or two, I'llpay you ten thousand dollars and all expenses. Is it a bargain?"
"Let me hear the story first," suggested our hero, who was acautious lad when there was need for it. Yet he liked Mr. Preston,even at first sight, in spite of his "loud" attire, and the rather"circusy" manner in which he had entered the room. Then too, if hewas a friend of Mr. Damon, that was a great deal in his favor.
"I am, as you know, in the circus business," began Mr. Preston. "Ihave a number of traveling shows, and several large museums in thebig cities. I am always on the lookout for new attractions, for thepublic demands them. Once get in the rut of having nothing new, andyour business will fall off. I know, for I've been in the business,man and boy, for nearly forty years. I began as a performer, and Ican still do a double somersault over fifteen elephants in a row. Ialways keep in practice for there's nothing like showing a performerhow to do a thing yourself."
"But about the giants, which is what I'm interested in most now. Ofcourse I've had giants in my circuses and museums, from thebeginning. The public wanted 'em and we had to have 'em. Some of 'emwere fakes--men on stilts with long pants to cover up their legs,and others were the real, genuine, all-wool-and-a-yard-wide article.But none of them were very big. A shade under eight feet was thelimit with me."
"I also have lots of wild animals, and it was when some of my menwere out after some tapirs, jaguars and leopards that I got on thetrack of the giants. It was about a year ago, but up to this time Ihaven't seen my way clear to send after the big men. It was thisway:"
Mr. Preston assumed a more comfortable position in his chair, noddedat Mr. Damon, who was listening attentively to all that was said,and resumed.
"As I said I had sent Jake Poddington, one of my best men, aftertapirs and some other South American animals. He didn't have verygood luck hunting along the Amazon. In the first place that regionhas been pretty well cleaned out of circus animals, and anotherthing it's getting too well populated. Another thing is that youcan't get the native hunters and beaters to work for you as they didyears ago."
"So Poddington wrote to me that he was going to take his assistants,make a big jump, and hike it for the Argentine Republic. He had atip that along the Salado river there might be something doing, andI told him to go ahead."
"He shipped me what few animals he had, and lit out for a threethousand mile journey. I didn't hear from him for some time, and,when I did, I got the finest collection of animals I had ever laideyes on. I got them about the same time I did a letter from Jake,for the mail service ain't what you could call rushing in that partof South America."
"But what about the giants?" interrupted Mr. Damon.
"I'm coming to them," replied the circus man calmly. "It was thisway: At the tail of his letter which he sent with the shipment ofanimals Jake said this, and I remember it almost word for word:"
"'If all goes well,' he wrote, 'I'll have a big surprise for yousoon. I've heard a story about a race of big natives that have theirstamping ground in this section, and I'm going to try for a fewspecimens. I know how much you want a giant.'"
"Well?" asked Tom, after a pause, for the circus man had ceasedtalking and was staring out of the opened library window into thegarden that was just becoming green.
"That was all I ever heard from poor Jake," said Mr. Preston softly.
"Bless my insurance policy!" gasped Mr. Damon. "You didn't tell methat! What happened to him."
"I never could find out," resumed Mr. Preston. "I never heardanother word from him, and I've never seen him from the time Iparted with him to go after the animals. The letter saying he wasgoing after the giants was the last line of his I've seen."
"But didn't you try to locate him?" asked Tom. "Didn't he have somecompanions--some one who could tell what became of him?"
"Of course I tried!" exclaimed Mr. Preston. "Do you think I'd let aman like Jake disappear without making some effort to find him? Buthe was the only white man in his party, the rest were natives. Thatwas Jake's way. Well, when some time past and I didn't hear fromhim, I got busy. I wrote to our consuls and even some South Americanmerchants with whom I had done business. But it didn't amount toanything."
"Couldn't you get any news?" asked Ned softly.
"Oh, yes, some, but it didn't amount to much. After a long time, andno end of trouble, I had a man locate a native named Zacatas, whowas the head beater of the black men under Jake."
"Zacatas said that he and Jake and the others got safely to theSalado river section, but I knew that before, for that was where thefine shipment of animals came from. Then Jake got that tip about thegiants, and set off alone into the interior to locate them, for allthe natives were afraid to go. That was the last seen of poor Jake."
"Bless my fire shovel!" cried Mr. Damon. "What did Zacatas saybecame of the poor fellow?"
"No one knew. Whether he reached giant land and was killed there, orwhether he was struck down by some wild beast in the jungle, I nevercould find out. The natives under Zacatas waited in camp for him forsome time, and then went back to the Amazon region where theybelonged. That's all the news I could get."
"But I'm sure there are giants in the interior of South America, forJake always knew what he was talking about. Now I want to do twothings. 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 tomake a search for him, and for the giants, but up to now somethinghas 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 giantfor me, rescue Jake Poddington if he is alive in the interior ofSouth America, or, if he is dead, find out how it happened and givehim decent burial? Will you do this, Tom Swift?"
There was a silence in the room following the dramatic and simplerecital of the circus man. Tom was strangely moved, as was his chumNed. As for Mr. Damon, he was softly blessing every thing he couldthink of.
Tom looked out of the long, opened windows of the library. In fancyhe could see the forest and jungles of South America. He saw asluggish river flowing along between rank green banks, while, fromthe overhanging trees, long festoons of moss hung down, writhing nowand then as the big water anacondas or boa constrictors looped theirsinuous folds over the low limbs.
In fancy he saw dark-skinned natives slinking along with theirdeadly blow guns, and poisoned arrows. He thought he could hear thelow growls and whines of the treacherous jaguars and see their lithebodies slinking along. He saw the brilliant-hued flowers, saw thebirds of gorgeous plumage, and listened in fancy to their discordantcries.
Then, too, he saw a lonely white man in a miserable native hutthousands of miles from civilization, waiting, waiting, waiting forhe knew not what fate. Again he saw monstrous men stalking along--menwho towered ten feet or more, and who were big and brawny. Allthis passed 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 whetherI can get you a giant or not, Mr. Preston, but if it's possible I'llget poor Jake Poddington, dead or alive!"
"Good!" cried the circus man, jumping up and clasping Tom's hand. "Ithought you were that kind of a lad, after I heard Mr. Damondescribe you. You've taken a big load off my heart, Tom Swift. Nowto talk of ways and means! I'll have a
giant yet, and maybe I'll getback the best man who ever shipped a consignment of wild animals,good Jake Poddington! Now to business!"