Bert Wilson at Panama Page 10

  CHAPTER X

  A PERILOUS ADVENTURE

  The party reached the camp without further adventure, and Mr. Hartley wasput under the care of the camp physician. The latter pronounced him allright with the exception of the shock, and the only prescription he gavewas "two or three days of thorough rest."

  "Well, that's easy medicine to take," said Hartley, with a faint smile,when he heard this verdict, "but I hope you lads will come and visit meand help me kill time. I'm used to a pretty strenuous life, and timewill hang awfully heavy on my hands if you don't. Besides, I want tohave a chance to express my appreciation of your brave conduct betterthan I have been able to so far."

  "Well, we'll come to see you, all right, with pleasure," said Bert, "onlyfirst we want to make one condition."

  "And what is that?" inquired the engineer.

  "Why, that you'll cut out saying anything about our 'brave conduct,'"said Bert. "We're naturally modest, you see," he added jokingly, "andanything like that bothers us."

  "Well, all right. I suppose in that case I'll have to agree to yourcondition," assented the other, reluctantly, "but you can't keep me fromthinking it, anyway."

  "All right, then, that's agreed, and we'll let it go at that," said Bert,with a smile, "we'll be up to see you as soon as the doctor will let us,won't we, fellows?" turning to Dick and Tom.

  Of course they were willing, so it was agreed that they should visit theengineer's tent, the next day but one. This matter settled, the threecomrades took a cordial leave of Mr. Hartley, and made their way back totheir own quarters. Until now they had not realized how tired they were,but before they had gotten to their room they all felt as though theycould scarcely keep awake.

  They managed to defer their sleep long enough to eat a hearty supper,however, but then "made a dash for the hay," as Tom expressed it.

  It did not take them long to get to sleep that night, and they were tootired even to discuss the exciting happenings of this eventful day.

  With the characteristic recuperative power of youth, however, they wereup bright and early the next day, and all three expressed themselves asfeeling "as fit as a fiddle."

  "But just the same," remarked Dick, "I feel like loafing around to-dayand taking things easy. Let's go up to the stone crushing works andwatch them. That's my idea of the most restful thing in the world--towatch somebody else working."

  "It certainly is," agreed Bert, with a laugh, "but I'm afraid the'somebody else' might not appreciate your philosophy."

  "Oh, that's all right," said Dick. "Some time when I'm working, theother fellow is welcome to watch me, and then he'll be getting his rest."

  "Huh," remarked Tom. "I'd hate to have to wait for my rest until youstarted laboring. I'm afraid I'd surely die from overwork before thathappened."

  "Oh, don't worry about your dying from overwork," retorted Dick, "that'smy idea of the last thing in the world to be afraid of. What do youthink, Bert?"

  "Oh, I don't imagine any of us will get heart failure very soon from thatcause," laughed Bert, "but here we are at the workings already, so let'sproceed to take your 'rest cure,' Dick."

  It seems hardly probable, however, that any invalid, suffering from"nerves" or some kindred disorder, would have selected this as an idealplace to recuperate. Everywhere the greatest activity was apparent, andthe combined din of the different machines was a thing to be remembered.A steam shovel rattled and puffed, cement mixers crashed, and compressedair drills hammered perseveringly at the living rock. Every once in awhile, work would cease at some point, and the laborers would standaround expectantly.

  Then there would come a muffled roar from some exploded blast, and acloud of rocks, dirt, and smoke would shoot upwards. Then the men wouldfall to again with renewed energy, the giant steam shovel would be set towork, and a few more yards of rock would be carried away.

  Thus the work proceeded without intermission, and the boys, although nowsomewhat used to the sights, looked on fascinated. There was somethingvery wonderful and awe-inspiring about the whole process that held theboys spellbound.

  "Just think of it," said Bert, after a long silence. "Imagine usstanding maybe half a mile away from this canal and seeing some big oceanliner going through it. Why, it will look as though the ship were goingover the solid ground."

  "That's what it will, all right," replied Dick. "It's certainly thebiggest thing ever."

  "I should think it was," said Tom. "I can't think of anything else thateven compares with it.".

  "No, neither can I," said Bert, thoughtfully. "That is, no practicableproject. Of course wild schemes come up now and then to change theearth's course, or some other crazy idea like that. I remember readingof a plan like that somewhere. It seems its originator, whoever he was,planned to build a great ring of iron all around the earth at theequator, and then charge it with electricity. He figures that theimmense magnetic attraction generated in that way would change theearth's course by acting on neighboring planets. I haven't muchconfidence in the plan, though," and, as Bert said this, he looked atTom, slyly.

  "Confidence!" exclaimed Tom, with a contemptuous snort. "Why, of all thefool schemes I ever heard of that's the limit. I shouldn't think you'deven----" but here he caught the twinkle in Bert's eye, and stoppedabruptly.

  "Ha, Ha!" roared Dick, "my, but you had Tom going that time, Bert, hethought you were in earnest about that."

  "Well, why shouldn't I think he was in earnest?" growled Tom. "He'spretty near foolish enough even to believe in a demented idea like that.I wouldn't have been surprised if he had."

  "Well, never mind, old timer," said Bert, "I put one over on you thattime, though, I guess. You'll have to admit it."

  "Yes, I guess you did," said Tom, "but I'll get even for that sometime.Don't be surprised if you find a little rat poison in your soup some day.That's the only punishment I can think of that would fit the crime."

  "Oh, that's all right," laughed Bert. "If it's like most rat poisons,all it will do is to make me fat and strong. I remember a friend of minewhose father was a farmer. He was telling me how his father scatteredpoison all around his barn in the hope of killing off a few of the pests,but he said that all the effect it seemed to have was to make themhungry, so that they ate more grain and feed than before. Maybe that'sthe way it will work with me, only the comparison isn't very flattering."

  "It isn't, for a fact," said Dick, "but I hope in this case Tom isn't asblood thirsty as he sounds."

  "Well, I might be persuaded to postpone the execution," admitted Tom,with a grin. "I'm always open to an offer, and a little matter of a fivedollar bill or so would buy me off."

  "All right, consider yourself paid," said Bert. "I'd rather owe it toyou all my life than cheat you out of it."

  "Much obliged, I'm sure," replied Tom, sarcastically. "As soon as I getthe five spot I'll blow you both to a swell dinner."

  "Good night," exclaimed Dick. "I hope I don't have to go hungry untilthat happens. I have a feeling that I'd lose considerable weight."

  "You'll have a _long_ wait, that's certain," replied Tom, and prepared totake to his heels.

  The only indication Bert and Dick gave that they heard this atrocious punwas a couple of hollow groans and melancholy head shakes.

  "Poor old Tom," mourned Dick at length, "poor old Tom. I've feared forsome time he was going off his head and now I know it. That's proofbeyond question."

  "Don't let it turn your hair gray," retorted Tom. "As long as I don'tworry about my condition you don't need to. But I'll promise to be goodand not do it again, anyway. That was a pretty rotten joke, I'll have toadmit."

  "That's all right," said Bert, "we forgive you. I'm glad to see that yourealize what a crime it was."

  After this they fell to discussing the events of the day before, andbecame so interested that they could hardly believe it was lunch time,when the whistles blew and the men threw down their tools and prepared totake a well earned rest for a brief hour
. "Well," said Bert, glancing athis watch, "I guess it's about time we hit the trail toward the nearesteats emporium. Now that its called to my attention, I begin to realizethat I'm hungry."

  The others also discovered symptoms of a healthy appetite, so withoutfurther loss of time they hurried back to their 'base of supplies' as Tomput it.

  "If we're as hungry as this without having done much all the morning,what would we be if we had been working since eight o'clock?" queriedDick, and the others were unable to give him a satisfactory answer.

  "I guess they'd have to stop work, owing to a shortage in the foodsupply," said Bert, and his companions laughingly agreed with him.

  They made a hearty lunch, and then returned to the scene of theexcavations. There were a thousand interesting things to watch, and theafternoon passed very quickly. Their attention was specially attractedby one giant steam shovel that rattled and puffed like some untiringmonster. The engineer guiding it directed its every motion with a touchof one of the levers close to his hand, and it seemed as though themachine were a living creature and he its brain. The great scoop woulddrop with a roar of chains passing through pulleys, and then, as the mainengine began to puff, would rise slowly but with irresistible force..Then a pair of auxiliary cylinders mounted on the beam of the shovelwould begin to work, and the big scoop with its load of dirt and rockswould swing around and stop over one of the dirt cars. The engineer'sassistant would pull a rope attached to the scoop, a catch would bereleased, and the bottom of the scoop would swing open, letting the loadfall into the waiting car. This process would be repeated again andagain, and then, when the shovel had scooped up all the dirt around it,it would be moved forward a few feet, under its own power, to a new baseof operations.

  It seemed that its power was almost limitless, but at last there came atime when the boys thought it would meet an insurmountable obstacle.Close to where they sat, a big stump projected from the ground. Part ofits gnarled and twisted roots was exposed, but a good deal of it wasfirmly imbedded in the earth. The steam shovel had worked its way along,until now it had reached a spot directly in front of this stump. Theboys thought that some laborers would be sent to uproot it, so that theshovel could proceed, but there was no sign of this being done.

  "Say!" exclaimed Dick. "I'll bet any money they mean to uproot thatstump with the shovel, but I don't believe it can be done. Why, it wouldtake a charge of dynamite to get that up."

  "It certainly looks pretty solid," said Bert, "but they must know whatthey're doing. We won't have to wait long, though, to find out. Look!they're bringing the scoop up under it now!"

  The three comrades watched intently as the big scoop dug in under thestump. As it came fairly up against the obstacle it slowed and almoststopped, and the boys caught their breaths. But the engineer opened thethrottle a trifle more, and the stump moved! Slowly it gave way, oneroot after another snapping off with a loud report, and at last waslifted clear of the ground.

  "Well, what do you know about that!" exclaimed Tom. "I thought the oldsteam shovel was up against it for fair, that time."

  "So did I," said Bert, "but it fooled us good and proper."

  "It's such things as that steam shovel that make the canal possible,"said Dick, "just imagine the time it would take to dig that stuff out bythe old method of shoveling. Why, it would take so long that we'd neverlive to see it finished."

  "Yes, I guess you're right," said Bert, "and look at those compressed airdrills working over there. Think how long it would take to bore outthose holes by the old method of hammering a drill into the rock.There's no doubt, that, as you say, modern machinery is the only thingresponsible for this work. It's a wonderful thing, any way you look atit."

  It was indeed a subject admitting of much speculation, and the boys nevertired of talking about it. In this way the afternoon passed veryquickly, and when work was stopped they returned to their quarters.

  On the way back, Bert said, "We might as well make arrangements now aslater, fellows, for going to see Mr. Hartley. You know we promised tocall on him to-morrow. What time shall we get there?"

  "Oh, I should think right after lunch would be about the best time, don'tyou?" said Dick, and as there seemed to be no objection to this plan,they adopted it unanimously.

  They arose early the next morning, and had ample time to take a long walkbefore breakfast. "Not that it's at all necessary," remarked Bert, "Idon't very well see how any of us could have much better appetites thanwe have already."

  "Yes, but if we didn't get all the exercise that we do, the appetitesmight not last very long," replied Bert.

  They did not prolong their ramble long enough to interfere withbreakfast, and got back to their quarters just in the nick of time.

  "Another ten minutes," exclaimed Tom, "and we would have missed some ofthe eats. We certainly do have close escapes from disaster at times."

  "It would certainly have been an awful calamity," grinned Bert, "but Ithink we must have some sixth sense that leads us back here in time formeals. I don't remember that we have ever been late to one yet."

  "No, and we're not going to be, if I can help it," said Dick, and theyall fell to in earnest.

  Breakfast over, they selected a level spot not far from their quartersand had a "catch." Bert found his arm somewhat rusty, as he had not doneany pitching to speak of for quite a while, but soon limbered up, andbegan "shooting them over" in his old time form. The morning passedquickly in the pursuit of this and other athletic exercises, and after alight luncheon the three comrades set out to visit Mr. Hartley inaccordance with the plan they had formed the day before.

  It was not a long walk to the engineer's tent, and they made short workof it. Needless to say, Mr. Hartley was more than glad to see them, andexpressed himself cordially.

  "Sit down, sit down!" he said heartily, after he had shaken hands withthem. "I've been looking forward to this visit with great pleasure. I'mused to a pretty active life, and I hate to be laid up even for a day.The doctor tells me I've got to have a complete rest for a few days,though, and I suppose he knows best."

  "Well, the doctor isn't always right in these cases," said Bert, with asmile, "although he probably is in this. I remember a good joke I heardabout that once."

  "Go ahead and tell it to us," urged Mr. Hartley.

  "Oh, it's about an Irishman, Mike we'll call him, who had been sick for along time. At last the day came, when, to all appearances, he hadfinally given up the ghost, and the family physician was as called inmore as a matter of form than anything else. He made the customarytests, and at last pronounced poor Mike dead. But just then Mikesuddenly sat up in bed. 'You're a liar, docther!' he said. 'Oi'm not deadat all, at all.' But at this point his wife stepped up. 'There, there,Mike,' she said, soothingly, 'lie down again. The `doctor knows best.'"

  There was a roar at this.

  "Ha, ha!" laughed Mr. Hartley, "that's a pretty good one. That man musthave held a large life insurance policy, I should say, judging by hiswife's conduct."

  "Very likely," grinned Bert. "But I can't vouch for that."

  Mr. Hartley then related one or two of his pet stories, and soon theywere all on the best of terms. After a while the conversation driftedaround to local topics, and the boys were much interested in Mr.Hartley's description of places and happenings in the country borderingthe "big ditch."

  "Yes, there are more curious and unheard of places in this little stripof country than in any other place I know of, comparable to it in size,"he said. "Why, if a quarter of the stories the natives tell are true, itis a veritable wonderland. And I think some of them are true. With myown eyes I have seen some of the things they talk about."

  "Tell us of some of them, won't you?" requested Bert, and the engineerseemed nothing loath.

  "There is one experience in particular that comes to my mind," he said,"that I have always meant to follow up at the first opportunity. It waswhile quite a party of us were out hunting, with three of the n
atives asguides. It was along toward the beginning of operations on the canal,and we were held up by a delay in delivering some of the machinery, sohad plenty of time on our hands. Well, as I say, we started out brightand early one morning, led by the three guides, who had brought a strangestory into camp. They told us of a ruined city they had discovered inthe heart of the jungle. According to them, this old town covered milesof territory, and was presided over by some demon who claimed the livesof all who penetrated within its boundaries. And we were led to givesome credence to their story by the fact that while they agreed to guideus to the city, they expressly stipulated that we should not require themto guide us further than its boundaries. They would stay outside, theysaid, and take the news of our death back to camp. They seemed to haveno doubt that the demon would 'get us,' and you may be sure ourcuriosity was greatly excited.

  "I and four others of the corps of construction engineers resolved to runthis mysterious devil to the ground, and so, as soon as we could make thenecessary arrangements, started out. We soon entered the jungle, andmade steady progress. As far as we could judge we went almost due south.We traveled with hardly a stop other than long enough to eat, that firstday, and only stopped when darkness made further progress impossible.

  "We were up bright and early the next morning, and about noon caught ourfirst glimpse of the ruined city. Way down a clearing in the jungle, wecould see tall white pillars, many of them partly hidden by creepingvines.

  "We all broke into a run, and in an hour or so were on the outskirts ofthe old city. And believe me, my lads, at one time that had been a citywith a capital C! It had evidently been laid out in well ordered streetsand squares, and everywhere houses were bordered by the remains of whathad been great temples and buildings. Most of them were on the ground,mere heaps of ruins, but a few were still standing, at least in part, andwe could get a faint idea of what the old city must have been in thosefar off days of its prime. At present, though, it seemed to be the abodeonly of wild things.

  "We gazed in wonder at this sight for some time, and then held a pow-wow.We had a long discussion as to whether we should start exploring atonce, or wait till the next morning.

  "We finally decided on the latter plan, as, in spite of our blastingsabout wanting to shake hands with the presiding devil, we really had nogreat hankering to meet him after dark. Of course, we none of usbelieved in that 'devil' business, but still we had no doubt that somesecret menace hung over the old city. The guides were positive on thispoint, and as they had been right so far, we were inclined to give theiropinions some consideration."

  Here Mr. Hartley paused as though to gather his thoughts, and the threeboys, who had been listening intently to his narrative, drew a deepbreath.

  "My!" exclaimed Tom, "make out we wouldn't like to have been with youthen."

  "Yes, I daresay you would," said Mr. Hartley, with a smile, as he notedthe eager longing in the eyes of his listeners. "I think it would havebeen an adventure after your own heart. But wait till you hear the rest,and you may be glad you were not along."

  "I doubt it," said Bert, "but go on with the story, if you please, Mr.Hartley."