Part 22 (1/2)

”Oh, I see!” sneered the taller visitor. ”You're afraid we might steal some of your ideas. Hum! Come on Montgomery,” and, swinging on his heels, with a military air, he hurried away, followed by his companion.

”They don't like that, but I can't help it,” remarked Tom to his friends a little later. ”I can't afford to take any chances.”

”No, you did just right,” said Mr. Nestor. ”Those men may be all right, but from the fact that they are in the picture taking business I'd be suspicious of them.”

”Well, what's next on the programme?” asked Ned as Tom put his camera away.

”Oh, I think we'll stay here over night,” was our hero's reply. ”It's a nice location, and the gas machine needs cleaning. We can do it here, and maybe I can get some more pictures.”

They were busy the rest of the day on the gas generator, but the main body of natives did not come back, and the Englishmen seemed to have disappeared.

Everyone slept soundly that night. So soundly, in fact, that the sun was very high when Koku was the first to awaken, His head felt strangely dizzy, and he wondered at a queer smell in the room he had to himself.

”n.o.body up yet,” he exclaimed in surprise, as he staggered into the main cabin. There, too, was the strange, sweetish, sickly smell. ”Mr.

Tom, where you be? Time to get up!” the giant called to his master, as he went in, and gently shook the young inventor by the shoulder.

”Eh? What's that? What's the matter?” began Tom, and then he suddenly sat up. ”Oh, my head!” he exclaimed, putting his hands to his aching temples.

”And that queer smell!” added Ned, who was also awake now.

”Bless my talc.u.m powder!” cried Mr. Damon. ”I have a splitting headache.”

”Hum! Chloroform, if I'm any judge!” called Mr. Nestor from his berth.

”Chloroform!” cried Tom, staggering to his feet. ”I wonder.” He did not finish his sentence, but made his way to the room where his camera was kept. ”It's gone!” he cried. ”We have been chloroformed in the night, and some one has taken my Wizard Camera.”

CHAPTER XX

AFTER THE ENGLISHMEN

”The camera gone!” gasped Ned.

”Did they chloroform us?” exclaimed Mr. Damon. ”Bless my--” but for one of the few times in his life, he did not know what to bless.

”Get all the fresh air you can,” hastily advised Mr. Nestor. ”Koku, open all the doors and windows,” for, though it was hot during the day in the jungle, the nights were cool, and the airs.h.i.+p was generally closed up. With the inrush of the fresh air every one soon felt better.

”Is anything else gone?” asked Ned, as he followed Tom into the camera room.

”Yes, several rolls of unexposed films. Oh, if only they haven't got too much of a start! I'll get it away from them!” declared Tom with energy.

”From who? Who took it?” asked Ned.

”Those Englishmen, of course! Who else? I believe they are in the pay of Turbot and Eckert. Their taking pictures was only a bluff! They got on my trail and stuck to it. The delays we had, gave them a chance to catch up to us. They came over to the airs.h.i.+p, to pretend to borrow films, just to get a look at the place, and size it up, so they could chloroform us, and get the camera.”

”I believe you're right,” declared Mr. Nestor. ”We must get after those scoundrels as quickly as possible!”

”Bless my shoulder braces!” cried Mr. Damon. ”How do you imagine they worked that trick on us?”

”Easily enough,” was Mr. Nestor's opinion. ”We were all dead tired last night, and slept like tops. They watched their chance, sneaked up, and got in. After that it was no hard matter to chloroform each one of us in turn, and they had the s.h.i.+p to themselves. They looked around, found the camera, and made off with it.”