"Then I guess we can go on," said Jerry. "But I wonder who it was robbedus?"
"I suppose it was the Mexican brigands that hang about every hotel,"said Ned.
"I'm not so sure of that," went on Jerry. "You know Noddy Nixon and hiscrowd are not far off. It may have been they."
"That's so; I never thought of them," said Ned.
"Did you recognize any one?"
"The fellow who grappled with me had a mask on," said Jerry. "But Ithought I recognized that fellow Dalsett. However, I couldn't be sure."
"I didn't get a chance to see my man," Ned added.
"The fellow who came for me had a voice like Bill Berry's," put in Bob."If I could see his ear I could soon tell."
"It will be a good while before you see his ear," continued Jerry. "Iwonder if it was Nixon's crowd, or only ordinary robbers? If we are tobe attacked by Noddy and his gang all the way through Mexico the tripwill not be very pleasant."
"Well, there's only one thing certain, and that is, the money-belts aregone," put in Ned, gazing ruefully at his waist around which he hadstrapped his cash. "The next question is, who took them?"
"Which same question is likely to remain unanswered for some time,"interrupted Professor Snodgrass. "Now, don't worry, boys. We are stillable to continue on our search for the buried city. This will teach us alesson not to go to sleep again unless some one is on guard. The moneyloss is nothing compared to the possibility that one of us might havebeen killed, or some of my specimens stolen. Now we had better all go tobed again."
"Shall we stand guard for the remainder of the night?" asked Bob.
"I think it will not be necessary," spoke the professor. "The robbersare not likely to return."
So, extinguishing the lantern which the innkeeper had left, thetravelers once more sought their cots, on which they had a somewhatfitful rest until morning.
At breakfast the innkeeper urged the travelers to spend a few days athis hotel, saying he had sent for a Government officer to come andmake an investigation of the robbery. But the boys and the professor,thanking their host for his invitation, called for their bill, settledit, and were soon puffing away through the forest once more.
For several hours they journeyed on beneath giant palms which linedeither side of the road. The scenery was one unending vista of green,in which mingled brilliant-hued flowers. Wild parrots and other birdsflitted through the trees and small animals rustled through theunderbrush as the automobile dashed by.
Jerry was at the steering wheel and was sending the car along at a goodclip, when, as he suddenly rounded a curve he shut off the power andapplied the brakes. Not a moment too soon was he, for he stopped themachine only a few feet from an aged Mexican, who was traveling alongthe road, aiding his faltering steps with a large, wooden staff.
The Mexican glanced at the auto which, with throbbing breath, as theengine still continued to vibrate, seemed to fill him with terror.Suddenly he dropped to his knees and began to pray.
"Be not afraid," Professor Snodgrass called to him, speaking in theSpanish language. "We are but poor travelers like yourself. We will notharm you."
"Whence do you come in your chariot of fire?" asked the old man. "Ye aredemons and no true men!"
"We will not hurt you," said the naturalist, again. "See, we bring yougifts," and he held out to the Mexican a package of tobacco and a smallhand-mirror. The old man's eyes brightened at the sight of them. He roseto his feet and took them, though his hands trembled.
In a moment he had rolled a cigarette of the tobacco, and, puffingout great clouds of smoke, complacently gazed at his image in thelooking-glass.
"Truly ye are men and not demons," he said. "The tobacco is very good.But whence come ye, and whither do ye go?"
"We are travelers from a far land," answered the professor. "Whither wego we scarcely know. We are searching for the unknown."
The aged Mexican started. Then he gazed fixedly at the professor.
"It may be that I can tell whither ye journey," he said. "For yourkindness to me I am minded to look into the future for you. Shall I?"
"No one can look into the future," answered the naturalist. "No oneknows what is going to happen." For the professor was no believer inanything but what nature revealed to him.
"Unbelievers! Unbelievers!" muttered the old man, blowing out a greatcloud of smoke. "But ye shall see. I will read what is to happen foryou."
He sat down at the side of the road. In the dust he drew a circle. Thishe divided into twelve parts, and in one he placed a small quantity ofpowder, which he took from his sash. The powder he lighted with a match.There was a patch of fire, and a cloud of yellow smoke. For an instantthe old man was hidden from view. Then his voice was heard.
"Ye seek the unknown, hidden and buried city of ancient Mexico!" hesaid, in startling tones. "And ye shall find it. Yea, find it soonerthan ye think, and in a strange manner. Look behind ye!"
Involuntarily the boys and the professor turned.
"Nothing there," grunted Ned, as he looked to where the old man had beenseated. To his astonishment, as well as the surprise of the others, theaged Mexican had disappeared.
CHAPTER IX.
A VIEW OF THE ENEMY.
"Where is he?" cried Bob.
"He must have gone down through a hole in the earth," said Ned. "Ididn't have my eyes off him three seconds. He didn't go down the roador we would have seen him, and he couldn't have run into the bushes oneither side without making a great racket. He's a queer one."
"Just like the East Indian jugglers I've read about," put in Jerry.
"I think probably he was something on that order," agreed ProfessorSnodgrass. "Strange how he should have known about the buried city, andwe have spoken to no one about it since we came to Mexico."
"Let's look and see if we can find a trace of him," suggested Bob.
The boys alighted from the car. They made a careful search around thespot where the old man had sat. There was the circle he had drawn in thedust, and the mark where the powder had burned, but not another trace ofthe Mexican could they find. They looked behind trees and rocks, butall they found was big toads and lizards that hopped and crawled awayas they approached. The professor annexed several of the reptiles forspecimens.
"How do you explain it all?" asked Jerry of the naturalist, when theyhad taken their seats in the automobile again. "Have those men anysupernatural powers?"
"I do not believe they have," replied the professor. "They do somethings that are hard to explain, but they are sharp enough to do theirtricks under their own conditions, and they disappear before those whocan see them have gotten over their momentary surprise."
"The disappearing was the funny part of it," went on Jerry. "I canunderstand how he made the smoke. A pinch of gunpowder would producethat. But how did he dissolve himself into thin air?"
"He didn't," replied the naturalist. "I'll tell you how that was done.It is a favorite trick in India. When he suddenly called to us tolook behind us he took advantage of our momentary glance away to hidehimself."
"But where?"
"Behind that big rock," and the naturalist pointed to a large one nearwhere the Mexican had been sitting.
"But we looked behind that," said Ned.
"Yes, several minutes after the disappearance," went on the professor,with a laugh. "This was how he did it: He wore a long, gray cloak,which, perhaps, you didn't notice. It was exactly the color of the stoneand was partly draped over it. It was there all the while he was doinghis trick. I saw it, but thought nothing of it at the time. Now, when hehad finished the hocus-pocus, and when our heads were turned, he justrolled himself up into a ball and got under the cloak by the stone. Ofcourse, it looked as if he had dropped down through the earth."
"But how about him getting away so completely that our search didn'treveal him?" asked Jerry.
"I think he waited a while and then, when he heard us getting out of theautomobile he took advantage of the confusion to crawl, still under hiscloak
, into the bushes, perhaps by a path he alone knew. There really isno mystery to it."
"How about him telling us we were searching for the buried city?" askedBob. "Wasn't that mind-reading?"
"I think he knew that part of it," said the professor, "though it seemedstrange to me at first. You must remember that the object of our tripwas pretty freely talked of back in the gold camp. Some one may havecome here from there before we started, and, in some manner, this oldMexican may have heard of us. He may even have been waiting for us. No;it looks queer when it happens, but reasoned out, it is natural enough.However, I am glad to know we are on the right road and will find whatwe are searching for, though the old man may be mistaken."
"Shall we go forward again?" asked Jerry, resuming his place at thesteering wheel.
"Forward it is!" cried Ned. "Ho, for the buried city!"
Once more the auto puffed along the forest road. It was warm with theheat of the tropics, and the boys were soon glad to take off theircoats and collars. Even with the breeze created by the movement of themachine, it was oppressive.
"I say, when are we going to eat?" asked Bob. "I know it's long pastnoon."
"Wrong for once, Chunky," answered Ned, looking at his watch. "It's onlyeleven o'clock."
"Well, here's a good place to stop and eat, anyhow," went on the stoutlad, to whom eating never came amiss.
"All right, we'll camp," put in Jerry, bringing the machine to a stop.
It was rather pleasant in the shade of the forest in spite of the heat,and the boys enjoyed it very much. The gasolene stove was lightedand Ned made some chocolate, for, since their advent into Mexico thetravelers had come to like this beverage, which almost every one downin that country drinks. With this and some frijoles and cold chickenbrought from the inn, they made a good meal.
"I'm going to hunt for some specimens," announced the professor. "Youboys can rest here for an hour or so."
With his green collecting box and his butterfly net the naturalistdisappeared along a path that led through the forest.
"I suppose he'll come back with a blue-nosed baboon or a flat-headedgila monster," said Ned. "He does find the queerest things."
It was almost an hour later, when the boys were wondering what hadbecome of the naturalist, that they heard faint shouts in the directionhe had taken.
"Hurry, boys!" the professor's voice called. "Hurry! Help! help! I'mcaught!"
"He's in trouble again!" exclaimed Ned. "We must go to his rescue!"
"Have you got your revolver?" asked Jerry, as Ned was about to rush away.
"No; it's in the auto."
"Better get it. I'll take a rifle along. Bob, you bring the rope. Notelling what has happened, and we may need all three."
With rifle, revolver and rope the three boys rushed into the forest tothe rescue of their friend. They could hear his shouts more plainly now.
"Hurry or he'll kill me!" cried the professor.
Running at top speed the boys emerged into a sort of clearing. Therethey saw a sight that filled them with terror.
Professor Snodgrass was standing underneath a tree, from one of thelower branches of which a big snake had dropped its sinuous folds abouthim. The reptile was slowly winding its coils about the unfortunate man,tightening and tightening them. Its ugly head was within a few feet ofthe professor's face, and the man was striking at the snake with thebutterfly net.
"We're coming! We'll save you!" shouted Jerry.
The boy started to run close to the naturalist, intending to get nearenough to fire at the snake's head without danger of hitting theprofessor.
"Look out!" yelled Bob, pointing to the ground in front of the tree."There's another of the reptiles!"
As he spoke a second snake reared its head from the grass, right in thepath Jerry would have taken. Bob had warned him just in time.
Jerry dropped to one knee. He took quick but careful aim at the snake onthe ground and fired. The reptile thrashed about in a death struggle,for the bullet had crashed through its head.
"Now for the other one!" cried Jerry.
He ran in close to the reptile that was slowly crushing the professor todeath. The unfortunate naturalist could no longer cry for help, so weakwas he.
Jerry placed the muzzle of the rifle close to the snake's head, andpulled the trigger. The ugly folds relaxed, the long, sinuous bodystraightened out and the professor would have fallen had not Jerry,dropping his gun, caught him. The other boys came to his aid, and theycarried the naturalist to one side and placed him on the grass.
Bringing water from a nearby spring, Bob soon restored the professor tohis senses.
"I'm all right," said the collector in a few minutes. "The breath wasabout squeezed out of me, though."
"You had a narrow escape," said Ned.
"Thanks to you boys, it ended fortunately," said the naturalist. "Yousee, I was trying to capture a new kind of tree-toad, and I didn't seethe snake until it had me in its folds. I'll be more careful next time."
In a little while the professor was able to walk. Jerry recovered hisgun and the whole party made their way back to the auto.
The camp utensils were soon packed up and the journey was resumed.
"I wonder what sort of an inn we'll stop at to-night?" said Bob. "Ihope they don't have any robbers."
"We won't run any chances," spoke Ned. "We'll post a guard."
For several hours the auto chugged along. As it came to the top of ahill the boys saw below them quite a good-sized village.
"There's where we'll spend the night," remarked Jerry. "Hello! What'sthat?" and he pointed to some object round a turn of the road, justahead of them.
"It looks like an automobile," said the professor.
"It is!" cried Ned. "And Noddy Nixon is in it!"
CHAPTER X.
SOME TRICKS IN MAGIC.
"You don't mean it!" exclaimed the professor. "Noddy Nixon, the youngman who made all the trouble for us! I thought we had seen the last ofhim."
"I hoped we had," said Jerry. "But you can't always get what you want inthis world."
"No, indeed! There is a purple grasshopper I've been hunting for fornearly five years, and I never found it!" spoke the naturalist.
"I wonder if Noddy saw us?" asked Ned.
"It doesn't make much difference," was Bob's opinion. "He'll run acrossus sooner or later. If he stops in the same village we do he's sure tohear about us."
"Then we may as well put up overnight in this town," said Jerry, sendingthe machine ahead again. Though the boys kept a close watch, they saw nomore of Noddy, for his automobile disappeared around a turn of the road.
When the red touring car came up to the village, such a crowd of curiousMexicans surrounded the auto that the occupants had difficulty indescending.
"I guess Noddy couldn't have come here, or these people wouldn't be socurious about our car," said Bob.
"Oh, you can depend on it, he's somewhere in the neighborhood," wasNed's opinion.
The keeper of the tavern, running out, bowed low to the prospectiveguests.
"Enter, senors!" he exclaimed. "You are welcome a thousand times. Thewhole place is yours."
"Will you guarantee that there are no robbers?" asked Jerry.
"Robbers, senors? Not one of the rascals within a thousand miles!"
"And will my bugs, snakes and specimens be safe?" asked the professor.
"Bugs and snakes! Santa Maria! What do you want of such reptiles? Ofcourse they will be safe. The most wretched thief, of which there arenone here, would not so much as lay a finger on them."
"Then we will stay," said the naturalist.
"Out of the way, dogs, cattle, swine, pigs and beasts!" cried theinnkeeper, brushing the crowd aside. "Let the noble senors enter!"
At these words, spoken in fierce tones, though mine host was smiling thewhile, the throng parted, and the boys, accompanied by the professor,made their way to the inn.
It was not long before supper was served. There were the
frijolesand tortillas, without which no Mexican meal of ordinary quality iscomplete, but the adventurers had not yet become used to this food.Then, too, there was delicious chocolate, such as can be had nowhere butin Mexico.
While the meal was in progress the travelers noticed that there wasconsiderable excitement about the inn. Crowds of people seemed to begoing and coming, all of them talking loudly, and most of them laughing.
"What is it all about?" asked Jerry.
"To-day is a fete day," replied the innkeeper. "No one has worked, andto-night there is an entertainment in the village square. Every one willattend. It will be a grand sight."
"What sort of entertainment?"
"I know only what I heard, that a most wonderful magician will do feats.Ah, some of those performers are very imps of darkness!" and the manmuttered a prayer beneath his breath.
"That sounds interesting. Let's go," suggested Bob.
"I haven't any objection," said Jerry. "Will you go, Professor?"
"I will go anywhere where there is a chance I may add to the stock ofscientific knowledge," replied the naturalist. "Lead on, I'll follow."
The meal over, the boys and professor had only to follow the crowd inorder to reach the public square. A centre space had been roped off, andin the middle of this a small tent was erected.
On the payment of a small sum to some officials, who seemed to be actingas ushers, the travelers managed to get places in the front row. Therethey stood, surrounded by swarthy Mexican men, women and boys, waitingfor the performance to begin.