CHAPTER V
ANDY FOGER LEARNS SOMETHING
Once Tom Swift made up his mind to do a thing, he did not waste timein setting about it. He had decided to go to giant land, and thatwas all there was to it. His father talked with him about thematter, pointed out the dangers, and suggested that, as the younginventor had had many adventures in the last few years, and had madeconsiderable money from the discovery of the city of gold, and theplatinum mines, the prize offered for a giant was not much of aninducement.
"But it isn't that so much, dad," explained Tom. "There's that poorcircus man, maybe suffering in the centre of South America. I wantto find him, if I can, or get some news that he died a naturaldeath, and is decently buried."
"You never can do it, Tom."
"Well dad, I'm going to make a big try!" he returned; and thatsettled it as far as Tom was concerned.
For several days after the visit of Mr. Preston Tom was busy makingplans for his trip to South America. He wanted to lay out a regularschedule before proceeding. Ned Newton had had hard work to persuadehis folks to let him go, but they finally consented, and as for Mr.Damon, his plan was simple.
Without mentioning giants at all, he took Mr. Preston home with him,and the circus man's tale of his assistant lost in the wilds ofSouth America was too much for Mrs. Damon.
"Go? Of course you'll go!" she said to her husband. "I demand thatyou go, and I want you to find that poor man and rescue him. If youcould rescue the exiles from uncivilized Siberia I'm sure you canget a man out of a civilized country."
Mr. Damon did not stop to point out that South America was far lesscivilized, in some ways, than was Russia. He just kept still, andmade his preparations to go. Mr. Preston was a distant relative ofthe odd man, and that was how he had happened to meet him and hearthe story which was destined to play such an important part in thelife of Tom Swift.
"Do you think we'll have much trouble after we get to South America,and strike into the interior?" asked Mr. Damon one afternoon, whenhe and Mr. Preston were helping Tom in the delicate work of packingthe wing planes of the Lark.
"No, South America isn't a bad country to travel in," replied thecircus man. "The natives are fairly friendly, and with a well-organizedparty, and plenty of money, which I shall see that you have, youought to get along swimmingly. Only one thing bothers me."
"What's that?" asked Tom quickly.
"That's my rival, Waydell. He's sure to make trouble if he gets onyour trail."
"Have you heard from him?"
"No, and that's what makes me all the more suspicious. If he'd comeout and fight me in the open it wouldn't be so bad. But thisunderhand business gets on my nerves. I don't know what he's up to."
"Maybe he isn't up to anything," suggested Ned. "He may not evenknow you are going to make another try for the giants."
"Oh, yes, he does," replied the circus man. "He didn't succeed inbeating me when poor Jake was after them, for the simple reason thatit was a snap case, and even I didn't know that Poddington wastrying for the giants until he had started. But Waydell was soonafter him, and he knows that when I once set out for a freak or acertain kind of animal I keep on until I get it. So he has probablyalready figured out that I'm making new plans to get a giant."
"But how will he know that I am going?" inquired Tom.
"I don't know how he will know, but he will. We circus men havequeer ways of finding out things. I shouldn't be a bit surprised butwhat he was already plotting and scheming to send an expedition onmy trail, to take advantage of anything you may learn."
"Well, we'll try and fool him, the same as we did the Mexicans whenwe hunted for the city of gold," spoke Tom; and then putting asidethat worry, he and the others labored hard to get matters in shapefor a departure to South America.
"I suppose Eradicate is going," remarked Ned, in the intervals ofpacking the aeroplane.
"Well, I've hinted it to him," replied Tom, "but I haven't asked himoutright. He said he wouldn't mind going to a hot country though.Here he comes now. Guess I'll see how he takes it."
The colored man shuffled up with a hammer and nails, for he had beenputting covers on packing boxes.
"Then you are coming with us to South America; aren't you, Rad?"asked Tom, winking at Ned.
"Souf America? Am dat de hot country yo'-all was referencin' to?"asked Eradicate.
"That's it, Rad. It's nice and warm there. All you have to do is tolie under a tree and cocoanuts will drop off into your mouth."
"Cocoanuts in mah mouf, Massa Tom! 'Scuse me! I doan't want t' go tono sich country as dat. Cocoanuts in mah mouf! Why I ain't got but afew teef left, an' a cocoanut droppin' offen a tree would shorelyknock dem teef out, shorely!"
"Oh, Rad, I didn't mean cocoanuts! I meant oranges and bananas--they're soft," and Tom glanced quickly at Ned, for he saw that hehad made a mistake.
"Oh, well, den dat's diffunt, Massa Tom. I jes lubs oranges an'bananas, an' ef yo'-all is shore dat I'll find some, why, I'll comealong."
"Find 'em? Of course you will!" cried Ned.
"And cocoanuts, too," added Tom. "Only, Rad, I meant to say that themonkeys would throw the cocoanuts down to you from the trees. Thatbreaks the hard shells you see, and all you have to do is to takeout the meat, and drink the milk. Then the monkeys throw you down apalm leaf fan to cool yourself off, while you're eating it. Oh, Itell you, Rad, South America is the place to go to have a goodtime."
"I believe you, Massa Tom. When do we-all start?"
"Pretty soon now."
"An' what all am yo' gwine arter, Massa Tom?"
The young inventor thought a moment. In times past he had nothesitated to confide in his colored helper, but of late yearsEradicate had become somewhat childish, and he talked more than wasnecessary. Tom wondered whether it would be safe to trust the giantsecret to him. After a moment's thought he realized that it wouldnot be. But, at the same time, he knew that if he did not give somekind of an answer Eradicate would become suspicious, and that wouldbe worse. The colored helper had been with Tom on too many trips notto know that his master never went without some object.
"Well, Rad, we're after big game this time," Tom said. "I don't knowwhat it will be that we'll get, whether animals or plants, and--"
"Oh, I knows, Massa Tom. Yo'-all means dem orchard plants that libon air--dem big orchard plants." Eradicate meant orchids, of whichmany rare and beautiful kinds are found in South America.
"Yes, Rad, I guess we will get some big orchids," agreed Tom.
"An' I shorely will help climb de trees arter 'em. Or maybe we kingit de monkeys to frow em down, same as dey will de cocoanuts."
"Maybe, Rad. Well, now go ahead and nail up the rest of these boxes.We want to get started as soon as we can," and the colored man gotbusy, murmuring from time to time something about oranges andbananas and cocoanuts.
Everyone was occupied in getting matters in shape for the trip toSouth America, even Mr. Swift laying aside his work on his petinvention--a gyroscope--while he helped his son. And had Tom notbeen quite so engrossed with his preparations he might have goneabout town more, in which case he would have learned something thatmight have saved him and the others considerable trouble and nolittle danger. And this fact was that Andy Foger had been in Shoptonseveral times lately.
After the trouble which the red-haired bully and his father causedTom and his friends on their trip to the city of gold, Mr. Fogermoved away from Shopton. He had lost his fortune and had to beginall over again. The Foger homestead was closed up, and Andy ceasedto be a fixture of the town, for which Tom and Ned were very glad.
But of late Andy had been seen in Shopton several times, and it wasnoticed that, on one or two occasions, he had a man with him--a manwho seemed to have plenty of money--a man with an air about him notunlike that of Mr. Preston. A man with what newspaper men would havecalled a circus or theatrical "air."
This man had visited Shopton soon after Mr. Preston made the giantproposition to Tom, and before meeting Andy
Foger had made specialinquiries about Tom Swift.
"Who are the people who have a hard feeling against this younginventor in town?" the man had asked of several persons.
"Tom Swift has more friends than enemies," was the general reply.
"Oh, surely he must have some enemies," the man insisted. "He's beenrunning his aeroplanes and autos around town a long time, and surelythere must be some one who has a grudge against him. I suppose hehas lots of friends, but who are his enemies?"
Then he learned about Andy Foger, and, hearing that Andy now livedin a nearby town, the man had at once gone there. It was not longbefore he reappeared--and the red-haired bully was with him.
"And you haven't learned anything yet, Andy?" asked this mysteriousman one afternoon, when he met his tool in a quiet resort inShopton.
"Nothing yet, Mr. Waydell. But give me a little more time."
"Time! You've had more time now than you need. When I agreed to payyou for finding out what part of South America Tom Swift would headfor to get some sort of a freak or animal for Preston's circus Ithought you'd make good quicker than this."
"So did I. But you see Tom is suspicious of me, and so is his chum,Ned Newton. I can't go to them, and if I'm seen sneaking around thehouse or shop, after what happened last, I'll be driven off."
"Well, it's up to you. I paid you to get the information and Iexpect you to do it. Why don't you tackle that old colored man whom,I understand, works for him? He ought to be simple enough to givethe game away."
"Eradicate? I will! I never thought of that I'll get thatinformation for you, Mr. Waydell, in a few days."
"You'd better, if you want to keep that money."
The two plotters parted, and that very afternoon gave Andy thechance he wanted. He met Eradicate on his way to the village wherehe was going after something Tom needed.
"Hello, Rad!" called Andy with a show of good feeling. "I haven'tseen you in some time. I suppose you're getting too old to travelaround with Tom any more?"
"Gittin' too old!" exclaimed the colored man indignantly, for thatwas his sore point. "What yo'-all mean, Andy Foger? I ain't gittin'old, an' neider am Boomerang."
"Oh, I thought you were, as you haven't been on any trips lately."
"I ain't, hey? Well I's gwine on one right soon, let me tell youdat, Andy Foger!"
"No! Is that so? Glad to hear it. Up to the North Pole I suppose?"
"No, sah; not much! No cold country for this coon! I's gwine whereit's nice an 'warm, an' where de cocoanuts fall in yo' mouf--I meanwhere de bananas an' oranges fall in you mouf, an' de monkeys frowdown cocoanuts an' palm leaf fans to yo'!"
"Where's that, Rad?" asked Andy, and he tried to make his voicesound indifferent, as though the matter did not interest him.
"South America, dat's where it am, an' I's gwine wif Massa Tom. We'sgwine t' git a monstrous big orchard plant."
"Oh, yes; I've heard about them. Well, I hope you get all theoranges and bananas you want. South America, eh? I suppose along theAmazon river, where they have crocodiles forty feet long, that arealways hungry."
"No, sah! No crockermiles fo' me! We ain't goin' neah de Amerzonriber at all. We's gwine away down in de middle part of SouthAmerica. It's a place suffin laik Gomeonaway--or Goonaway, orsuffin' laik dat."
"Oh, yes; I know where you mean!" and Andy could hardly conceal thenote of triumph in his voice. He had the very information he wantedfrom the simple colored man. "Yes, I guess there are no crocodilesthere, and plenty of monkeys and cocoanuts. Well, I hope you have agood time," and Andy hurried away to seek out the rival circus man.