第29章

"Bless my rat trap!" gasped Mr.Damon."A mad dog!"Shouts and cries arose from among the Indians.Women screamed, and those who had children gathered them up in their arms to run to shelter.The men threw all sorts of missiles at the infuriated animal, but seemed afraid to approach it to knock it over with a club, or to go to the relief of the frightened child which was now only a few feet ahead of the animal, running in a circle.

"Me git him!" cried Koku, jumping forward.

"No,Wait!" exclaimed Tom Swift."You can kill the dog all right,Koku," he said, "but a scratch from his tooth might be fatal.I'll fix him!"Snatching his electric rifle from the Indian bearer who carried it, Tom took quick aim.There was no flash, no report and no puff of smoke, but the dog suddenly crumpled up in a heap, and, with a dying yelp, rolled to one side.The child was saved.

The little one, aware that something had happened, turned and saw the stretched out form of its enemy.Then, sobbing and crying, it ran toward its mother who had just heard the news.

While the mothers gathered about the child, and while the older boys and girls made a ring at a respectful distance from the dog, there was activity noticed among the men of the village.They began hurrying out along the forest paths.

"Where are they going?" asked Tom."Is there some trouble? Was that a sacred dog, and did I get in bad by killing it?"The interpreter and the native chief conversed rapidly for a moment and then the former, turning to Tom, said:

"Men go git cinchona bark now.Plenty get for him," and he pointed to Mr.Damon."They no like stay in village.T'ink yo' got lightning in yo' pocket," and he pointed to the electric rifle.

"Oh, I see!" laughed Tom."They think I'm a sort of wizard.Well, so I am.Tell them if they don't get lots of quinine bark I'll have to stay here until all the mad dogs are shot."The interpreter translated, and when the chief had ceased replying, Tom and the others were told:

"Plenty bark git.Plenty much.Yo' go away with yo' lightning.All right now.""Well, it's a good thing I keeled over that dog," Tom said."It was the best object lesson I could give them.~'

And from then on there was no more trouble in this district about getting a supply of the medicinal bark.

A week passed and Professor Bumper was no nearer finding the lost city than he had been at first.Reluctantly, he returned to the tunnel camp to get more provisions.

"And then I'll start out again," he said.

"We'll go with you some other time," promised Tom."But now I expect I'll have to get another blast ready."He found the debris brought down by the second one all removed, and in a few days, preparations for exploding more of the powder were under way.

Many holes had been drilled in the face of the cliff of hard rock, and the charges tamped in.Electric wires connected them, and they were run out to the tunnel mouth where the switch was located.

This was done late one afternoon, and it was planned to set off the blast at the close of the working day, to allow all night for the fumes to be blown away by the current of air in the tunnel.

"Get the men out, Tim," said Tom, when all was ready.

"All right, sor," was the answer, and the Irish foreman went back toward the far end of the bore to tell the last shift of laborers to come out so the blast could be set off.

But in a little while Tim came running back with a queer look on his face.

"What's the matter?" asked Tom."Why didn't you bring the men with you?""Because, sor, they're not there!"

"Not in the tunnel? Why, they were working there a little while ago, when I made the last connection!""I know they were, but they've disappeared." "Disappeared?""Yis sir.There's no way out except at this end an' you didn't see thim come out: did you?""Then they've disappeared! That's all there is to it! Bad goin's on, thot's what it is, sor! Bad!" and Tim shook his head mournfully.