“Don’t look up now, when I mention the matter, because they might see you, for I expect they’re watching us. Both of you have undoubtedly noticed two men who sit back of you, and at the end of the car, one of them small and stout, the other tall and slim?”
“Yes,” Andy admitted, “the tall one nodded when he passed, and acted like he wanted to open up a talk with me, but I turned to the window again as if I was too much taken up with the scenery here to bother.”
“And the stout one nodded to me when he caught my eye,” said Hiram. “’Course I nodded back, but made out not to look that way again.”
“Well, they’ve been holding considerable conversation in low tones,” explained Rob. “I could manage to glimpse them in the glass at our end of the car, though they didn’t suspect me of spying. Every time either of you thought to get up, or even turn your heads they made out to be half asleep, with their eyes shut; but I could see they were talking about you.”
“Then mebbe that Marsters did send emissaries along with me to try and steal the product of my brains!” complained Hiram, with compressed lips and stern demeanor.
“Oh! that doesn’t follow at all,” Rob assured him. “These fellows may just happen to be a pair of hard cases always on the lookout for signs of a paying haul. When they noticed how you kept feeling of your inside pocket they guessed from the signs you must have something worth while hidden away there. Men who make their living from the world by sharp tricks get to read character wonderfully well.”
“Yes,” Andy put in just then, “they say that old and experienced customs inspectors can tell from a person’s looks in nine cases out of ten whether he or she is trying to smuggle things into the country without declaring them.”
“What can I do about it then, Rob?” asked Hiram.
“I’ve got a plan that would fill the bill,” he was told.
“Yes, go on and tell me, Rob.”
“You come with me into the car ahead. We’ll sit in the smoking compartment for a few minutes if it happens to be empty. There you can give me your packet, and I’ll fasten it inside my coat, handing over some worthless papers for you to do up as if they were priceless in value, to pin in your pocket instead. Do you get what I’m telling you, Hiram?”
“Rob, count me in,” the other replied hastily. “It’s a good thing, for even if they did happen to rob me they’d be having their pains for nothing. When you’re ready, give me the tip and I’ll follow after you.”
“Andy,” Rob continued impressively, “as we pass out you change your seat so that you’re facing the two men. In that way you can seem to be watching, and they’re not so apt to follow after us.”
“All right,” muttered Andy; “any time you see fit I’m ready.”
Rob first of all made a little packet with some old letters taken from his pocket, and which he had been thinking of discarding for some time. This he could do without exposing his hands above the shelter afforded by the back of the seat.
“All ready, Hiram; get up, and seem to be coaxing me to go with you. Finally, lay hold of my sleeve and pull me. I’ll act as if I didn’t much care to accompany you. That will serve to divert attention; and as you pass the men turn your eyes the other way. If you can be saying something about some one being glad to see me, it would make them believe we knew a passenger in one of the forward cars.”
How Rob did look to the small details of everything he undertook! He knew from past experiences that after all these are what bring success in the long run.
Although Rob had told Hiram to turn his head the other way while nearing the two suspicious men, he himself gave them a nod in passing, just the salutation one traveler is apt to bestow upon another when they have been fellow passengers in the same car for hours, perhaps days.
Rob did that purposely; he knew it would serve to allay any suspicion that may have been bred in the minds of the men to the effect that their actions had been observed.
Once in the car ahead, they found that for a wonder the smoking compartment happened to be empty. Taking advantage of this chance, Hiram hurriedly unpinned the packet he had guarded so closely, and gave it into the possession of his chum. In its stead he secured the dummy in his pocket.
All this had consumed hardly two minutes of time. Rob was careful to notice that not a single soul had passed the door of the compartment; and as soon as the exchange had been effected he stepped out in order to take a survey of the car, to find that neither of the two suspicious men had actually followed them from the other sleeper.
“That job’s finished, and I feel a whole lot easier in my mind,” admitted Hiram.
“No matter whether I was right or not, there’s no harm been done,” Rob told him; “and now, Hiram, see that every five minutes or so you keep on feeling your coat as you were doing it before. I’m more than curious to know whether they’ll try it or not.”
“Well,” chuckled the other, as if amused, “if they don’t it isn’t goin’ to be for want of chances, I tell you that, Rob.”
“Let’s get back to our places,” the scout leader added, “because I don’t feel altogether safe away from my suitcase, with all that wonderful stuff in it the professor said represented so much research and effort that made it priceless.”
The two men were there as they had left them. Rob again nodded carelessly when he found that the short man was eagerly watching to catch his eyes; but he did not stop to enter into any conversation when the other made some casual remark, only replying over his shoulder as he passed on.
“They kept talking like a blue streak while you were gone,” said Andy, after the other two had seated themselves. “Twice the tall man stepped off as if he meant to follow you, but he must have thought better of it, for he turned back before getting out of the car, and shook his head at the other one. They are up to something evil, Rob, take my word for it.”
“We only have one more meal aboard the train, and then comes the hotel at Los Angeles,” said Hiram. “I guess we can hold ’em off that much longer.”
“You see how you can overdo things by being too much on your guard, Hiram,” Rob explained. “Only for the way you kept on feeling your pocket they would never have suspected that Boy Scouts traveling alone could own anything worth stealing. The best way to do is to make things secure, and then appear to forget all about them.”
“I will at another time, Rob; but between the way that Marsters acted, and the caution these people on the Coast impressed on me, it all got on my nerves. You see, I thought it was only business to tell the Golden Gate people how Eastern concerns had men buzzing me continually to sell to them. That made them warn me not to take anyone into my confidence while traveling. They know some unscrupulous firms would steal an idea as big as my invention, if they could get away with it. But it’s all right now, and they can whistle for their prize for all I care.”
The time passed, and when one of the waiters passed through to announce supper, the boys had laid out their program. As before, Rob and Hiram were to go first, while Andy held the fort for them.
“Remember and don’t leave the seat under any condition while we’re gone,” was what the scout leader told Andy.
“Do you suspect that they might even try to get away with our hand baggage?” asked the other. “I thought it was only Hiram’s pockets they wanted to explore.”
“If they are thieves nothing is safe from them,” explained Rob. “‘An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.’ Keep your foot on my bag as you sit here. If anybody tries to tempt you to change seats just say you’ve got a bone in your leg, and don’t care to move around more than you can help.”
“Sure thing!” chuckled Andy; “it hurts terribly, too; and the only thing that is able to make me use it is the walk to the dinner—the cake-walk I call it. Leave it all to me, Rob; I’m frozen to this seat.”
Accordingly, the pair passed along the aisle and headed for the dining-car. Again the two men did their best to be civil, even nodding and smiling genially as the two boys passed them.
“Rob, they’re chasing after us!” muttered Hiram, in some little anxiety, just as he and his chum had entered the next car and were passing along the narrow corridor.
“All right, there’s no law to prevent them from getting hungry at the same time we do,” replied Rob over his shoulder.
“But they may choose to sit down with us at the same table, and make themselves chummy,” objected the other.
“I guess not if we know it,” Rob told him.
“How can we help it without making some sort of scene?” asked Hiram.
“That’s easy enough, if we can pick a table that only accommodates two,” explained the scout leader, “and as we’re in the advance, we have our choice.”
“Oh!”
Evidently, Hiram was considerably relieved by what his comrade had said. He once more realized that Rob promised to be equal to the occasion. Indeed, the record of past achievements should have told Hiram this long ago; but in the presence of new dangers he was apt to forget what splendid things Rob had accomplished on other occasions when the tide seemed adverse.
Upon entering the dining-car Rob smiled to see that there was just one table seating two that did not have some one at it.
“There’s our chance, Rob, down at the further end of the car!” said Hiram hastily, as though he feared the other might not see the table.
Rob took the chair that placed his back against the partition. This allowed him to survey the rest of the car. Nothing could have suited his plans better, for there was a small mirror that he could use to spy upon the two men who were now sitting facing him, halfway up the car.
As the meal progressed and evening drew on, the electric lights in the diner were turned on. Hiram somehow seemed to lack his voracious appetite.
“Don’t just know what’s the cause, Rob,” he remarked, when the other accused him of not disposing of much of the food he had ordered, “it may be the rocking of the car, which is fierce just now; or else it comes of my riding backward. I’ve been told that some people never can stand for that. But I guess I won’t starve to death between now and morning.”
The two men talked a good deal, but then there was nothing suspicious in that. Rob also noticed that they watched him and companion from time to time, as if their interest kept on growing.
When Hiram happened to think of his instructions, and occasionally raised a hand to feel for his coat in the region of that inner pocket, Rob kept a close watch on the men. He could plainly see the shorter one nudge his companion in the side, and say something, for his lips moved. Undoubtedly he was calling the other’s attention to Hiram’s suggestive movement, and while not a lip-reader, Rob could easily imagine him saying half under his breath:
“See, there he goes at it again! Just as we decided, he must have something rich hidden away there. And we’re fools if we don’t make a big bid for it!”
Rob was by this time fully satisfied that the men had evil designs on his comrade’s inside pocket. He was determined to be unusually careful about riding in a public conveyance while in Los Angeles, since that would give the rascals a chance to accomplish their purpose.
“If you’re satisfied, Hiram, let’s be getting out of here,” said Rob, who had seen the two men getting an extra portion of food, believing that this might be a good chance to leave them in the lurch, since they would hardly jump up and accompany the boys, for fear of attracting attention.
The two scouts quickly arose, seized their hats, and passed along between the tables, which were pretty generally occupied by that time. Rob took occasion to keep his eyes on the two men, for several reasons. He even returned their nods as though no such thing as a suspicion regarding their honesty had come into his head.
“They missed that chance, anyhow!” Hiram remarked, as with some difficulty they threaded their way through the next car, for the train was making fast time, and things rolled more or less.
“We’ve got to keep on the alert all the time if we expect to leave those smart chaps in the lurch,” Rob told him. “You know the old saying, ‘eternal vigilance is the price of liberty,’ and it applies to us right now.”
“Then you don’t think they’ve given up all hope yet, Rob?”
“That kind of men never do until they’ve exhausted every plan,” the scout leader replied. “I expect that right now they’ve got some scheme in mind they mean to spring on us if they get but half a chance.”
Reaching their section in the sleeper, they sent Andy ahead to get his supper. He told them he was as hungry as a wolf, and would make up for what Hiram failed to dispose of, so that the company should not get too rich off what they paid into its coffers.
After a while the men came in and took their seats. Rob was a little afraid one of them might be bold enough to push himself upon them. He had prepared for this during their absence by having Hiram sit alongside of him next the window, while the other seat was piled high with some of their luggage, thus offering no chance for a third party to find room.
But it proved a false alarm. Neither of the men made any advance whatever, and Rob believed they had figured that action on their part while on the train might get them into trouble.
“The time will come when we are in the station at Los Angeles,” he told Hiram.
“Do you really think so?” asked the other curiously; and it might be noticed that he did not seem to be trembling any longer; for since his packet was safe in the possession of Rob Blake, Hiram did not see any necessity for further worrying over the matter.
“We must be careful every minute of the time until we reach the hotel,” the scout leader explained.
“Huh! do you know, Rob, what I’ve got a good notion to do?”
“Be reckless, perhaps,” chuckled the other, guessing this, perhaps, from the little boastful strain he detected in the language Hiram used.
“Why, to be frank with you, Rob, I really feel sorry for those chumps. They’ve taken a whole lot of interest in a poor country chap like me, and it seems a shame they should be bitterly disappointed.”
“Oh! that’s the way things set, do they?” continued Rob. “You feel so bad on their account that you’re tempted to give them a chance to steal that dummy packet you have fastened inside your pocket?”
“I’ve gone so far as to take the pin out, you see,” chuckled Hiram. “If they do get busy they needn’t have the worry of that to keep them back. And when you look at it in the right light, Rob, wouldn’t that be just the quickest way to get rid of the slick rascals?”
“Well, the chances are that if they did manage to lay hands on your packet, they’d disappear in a big hurry, Hiram.”
“All right, then. Let them make the opportunity, and I’ll try to be as accommodating as possible. You know, Rob, that I’m said to be an easy mark among the boys of Hampton. I hate to disappoint anybody in the worst way.”
“Here comes Andy, and he looks as if he has enjoyed his supper first-rate, too,” Rob remarked. “I hope he doesn’t let them get him into conversation for an entering wedge. I forgot to warn him about that.”
Apparently Andy was wise enough on his own account to know the folly of such a move, as he pushed past the two men, paying no attention even when one of them plucked at his sleeve.
“One more hour and we’ll be there, the conductor told me,” he announced.
“Then we must be about on time, according to the schedule,” said Hiram, who had worn his time-table almost to shreds by consulting it so often on the long journey from New York City.
They proceeded to get all their belongings in shape, so there would be nothing to delay them, once the station was reached. Rob had decided to take a carriage to the Hotel Alexandria, and thus avoid all possible contact with strangers.
When the porter announced that they were entering Los Angeles there was considerable confusion, as passengers caught up such of their hand luggage as had not been already piled near the door by the porter.
Rob had resolutely declined to let the negro touch his suitcase, though his liberal tip to the man made him eager to be of some assistance. The boy knew that at this point there was apt to crop up a crisis; and also that the good record held up to that time might be shattered through any carelessness on his part.
Consequently, he held fast to his grip as he followed Hiram out of the car, this mode of procedure having all been settled upon beforehand. It gave Rob a chance to keep his eagle eye on the figure of Hiram; and so long as he was able to do that he did not believe the other could be spirited away, or his pocket picked.
“Look out for getting in a crush, Hiram,” Rob whispered in the other’s ear as they passed along the narrow corridor.
“They went out ahead of us, Rob,” Hiram informed him, as he turned his head.
“Yes, I know that, but we’re going to run up against those men again before we are out of this scrape,” the scout leader prophesied.
“Well, I’m awful glad we’re in at last. That was a long trip, and I’m tired of the old car,” said the one in the lead. “Thank goodness we’ll soon be landed in San Francisco, where my business can be settled, one way or the other.”
“I see them, Rob!” announced Andy, just then.
“Yes, and they’re waiting for us, just as I thought,” ventured Rob. “We’ll push straight on to where we can get a carriage, and then leave them in the lurch. Above all, nobody must stop to talk; keep walking, and stick together!”
“That’s understood, Rob!” came from Hiram; while Andy in the rear gave a grunt as if to signify that he had it all fixed in his mind.
There was a lively scene as friends rushed this way and that to find those for whom they were waiting; and as the three scouts walked steadily along in line, headed for the exit where the carriages were to be found, the two men suddenly appeared alongside them.
“Sorry to bother you young fellows,” said the tall man, in a low but commanding voice, “but we are United States marshals, and you must consider yourselves bound to come with us, for you are under arrest!”
“Arrested! Oh! my stars!” ejaculated Hiram, falling to trembling when he felt the hand of the tall stranger drop heavily upon his shoulder.
“Whew! this is a warm reception to California for a fact!” burst out Andy, in considerable consternation, as he dropped his bundles, and stood there staring at the two mysterious men.
Rob, too, was somewhat staggered at the abrupt accusation, though he quickly rallied his senses, and found his tongue.
“Where’s your warrant for doing this?” he demanded of the shorter man, who immediately flipped back his coat to disclose some sort of nickel badge pinned to his vest, not giving Rob enough time to make it out.
“We don’t need any warrant, being in the service of the Government,” this worthy assured him in as gruff a tone as possible.
“But who do you take us for, and what are we accused of doing?” asked Rob, continuing to keep a firm grip on his suitcase through it all, though he allowed his eyes to rove around in search of a policeman.
“Never mind about that, my boy; you will find it all out after we have arraigned you before the United States Commissioner. We’ve been watching your party for some time, and believe we’ve bagged the right birds. Now, for your sake, we don’t want to make a scene, so we’ll just lock arms with you, and pass out of the station that way to take a vehicle. If you know what’s good for you, pay no attention to any one; and if you attempt to escape, remember, we’re prepared to shoot.”
The tall man at that eagerly thrust a hand through the left arm of Hiram, who made no resistance. Rob, even in that exciting moment, noticed that he had managed to get on the side nearest the pocket where the inventor had placed his valuable papers, now snugly reposing on Rob’s person. It was very significant, to say the least; and Rob began immediately to discover what Hiram would have called “the nigger in the woodpile.”
“Come on, then, boys,” said Rob, “we’re in for it, and there’s no need of kicking up any disturbance. We’ll go before the Commissioner and prove our innocence.”
“That’s right sensible of you, young fellow!” declared the shorter man, as he took hold of Rob’s arm and escorted him along.
Other people were pushing past, but were so busy with their own affairs that they did not seem to pay any attention to the little drama being enacted on the station platform.
A minute later and Rob believed the time had come to act.
“Not that way, son; we’re meaning to take a carriage over here,” said the tall man, designating the opposite direction to that in which Rob had turned.
“Please yourselves, gentlemen,” said Rob, suddenly displaying quite a different manner. “We’ve decided thatwewant to go out this way; and that policeman standing there has his eye on us this very minute. I think I had better call him over and ask him to get you to show your colors.”
“That’s the stuff!” said Andy, recklessly, all the pent-up indignation that had been boiling within him breaking loose.
Had a bomb fallen near them, the two men could not have shown more concern. They must have realized that their shrewd little game had been called.
“Guess we’ve made a mistake about this business, McGuire!” said the short man, hastily looking around him as though desirous of discovering a good opening for flight.
“Seems that way to me, Colonel; and we’ll say good-by to you, boys!”
“Why, they’ve gone!” cried Andy, as though he could hardly believe his eyes.
Rob had really been on the point of summoning the officer standing there; but since the rascals had chosen to run and mingle with the out-pouring crowd, and Rob did not wish to have attention called to himself and chums, he wisely held his tongue.
Hiram was laughing to himself as though it struck him in the light of a good joke.
“What ails you, Hiram?” asked Andy, not yet able to grasp the situation sufficiently to see the humorous side of it.
“I’m only wondering what they’ll say when they come to find out how they’ve been so badly sold, that’s all,” replied the inventor, again indulging in one of his laughing fits.
“Did they get it?” demanded Rob, instantly, guessing that there was a reason for all this hilarity on the part of the other chum.
“Oh! he slicked it out of my pocket the cutest way you ever saw,” replied Hiram. “I felt his hand going in, so I held my breath to give him all the chance I could; and he did it, too, sure he did!”
“Got the papers, you mean, don’t you, Hiram?” asked Rob.
“The dummy you made up for me, Rob.”
Then both the others had occasion to smile broadly.
“Hope they’ll enjoy reading those letters the boys wrote me while we were over in Europe last fall,” Rob remarked.
“I’d give a heap to see them when they find what a wonderful windfall they’ve struck to pay them for all their trouble,” said Andy.
“Well, let’s get a conveyance and start for the Alexandria without any more delay,” advised the scout leader.
“Me for a comfy bed to-night,” Hiram laughed; “better get a room with plenty of space for all of us, Rob. After this excitement to greet us on reaching California, I think it would be as well to stick together till we’ve unloaded our cargo, and have our time to ourselves.”
They were soon at the hotel. They were taken up to the fifth floor, on which were three connecting rooms.
“High enough up so we needn’t be afraid of any one climbing in at the window,” Hiram remarked, after he had first of all taken in the view, with the late moon just peeping above the mountains in the east.
“Oh! no danger of those two fellows chasing after us any longer,” laughed Andy. “They got their fill of it, and will pick out somebody besides scouts for their next victims. Who got bit, I want to know?”
As everybody laughed and seemed satisfied, it could be set down as positive that the three scouts were not feeling badly over the adventure that had marked their introduction to the Coast.
The night passed without any incident worthy of recording. Hiram declared that he never knew a single thing after his head touched the pillow; he was so much in need of a good night’s sleep that he must have dropped off instantly, to be finally aroused by hearing Rob announce it was time for breakfast.
They determined to put their valuables in the hotel safe, and spend several days in and around Los Angeles, though they would not have time to run down to San Diego and visit the other big exposition which was in full blast there.
This they did, and enjoyed every minute of the time, though they were never long in one place, so many things did they have to see.
It being Hiram’s first chance to look upon tropical vegetation, he was highly delighted with what he saw in the streets and public gardens of the bustling city.
Then they went out to visit an orange grove, and besides that, inspected numerous enterprises connected with the great fruit-growing belt around Riverside. This place the boys were ready to declare—with its groves covering the broad valley, and with the mountains, their tops snow-covered, looming up beyond—to be the most delightful town on the face of the earth.
But the boys came to the conclusion that while all these things were truly wonderful and especially delightful, they had not come out to the coast on a pleasure jaunt; and hence no further time should be spent in this way until they had accomplished the several duties that awaited their attention.
“I’ve made arrangements for seats in the parlor-car with the train leaving to-morrow morning,” Rob announced on the second evening, as they discussed supper and the many things they had seen since early morning.
“When will we get to San Francisco then?” asked Hiram.
“After dark,” Rob informed him. “It’s more than three hundred miles away, you know, for California is a big State, especially from north to south.”
“According to that, then, Rob,” continued the other, “on the day after to-morrow we ought to be taking in some of the sights of the World’s Fair.”
“That’s our programme,” admitted the leader and guide of the expedition, as he threw down his napkin, and pushed his chair away, in which he was copied a little reluctantly, perhaps, by both his companions.
“Excuse me for not asking if you were through, Hiram,” said Rob in an aside, “but honestly I was afraid Andy would founder if he ate any more. He’s developed such an enormous appetite since landing here, there’s liable to be an explosion unless we watch him pretty close.”
“He’ll eat up all your spare cash, that’s the worst of it,” complained Hiram, who was a little inclined to be close with his money as a rule; possibly because he had found a pressing need for every dollar in conducting his numerous experiments, for it costs more or less to “potter” with schemes along the line of invention.
Rob only laughed, and it was very evident that this contingency did not worry him to any great extent. He knew there were ample funds at hand for all ordinary expenses, with more coming if needed.
They were off on the morning train, and all through that day enjoyed the scenery that was spread out before them—through Santa Barbara and on up until it reached San Francisco.
That day’s journey would never be forgotten by any of the three scouts. They stored a thousand incidents away in their memories for future enjoyment.
As evening came on they knew they must be getting in the vicinity of the great city that had recovered from the horrors of the earthquake and destruction by fire with such marvelous speed as to awaken the admiration of the whole world.
“You can see the light in the sky whenever the train makes a turn,” remarked Andy to Hiram who, as usual, had his nose glued against the glass.
Taking a carriage after they had left the train they soon found themselves installed at the Fairmont Hotel, which Rob had been told to patronize by Judge Collins, because of its fine view of San Francisco Bay, and the Golden Gate, as well as possibly the glimpses to be obtained of the illuminated towers in the Exposition grounds along the shore.
It was after nine when they arrived, and of course the boys were not foolish enough to think of attempting anything until they had slept, and felt reinvigorated.
Looking from the windows of the large room they had taken, with two double beds in it, they went into raptures over the scene. The moon, though due before long, had not yet risen, and it seemed as though a million lights dazzled their eyes in every direction, and made it look like a scene from fairyland.
And so, in due time, they sought their beds, and slept so close to the Great Exposition that it would seem as though the whirr of innumerable wheels in Machinery Hall, or the murmur of the multitude of visitors roaming about the extensive grounds, must of necessity be borne aloft to the ears of the three eager lads who had come thousands of miles to view the wonders of the display.
But, at any rate, they managed to put in a restful night, and when morning routed them from their beds, they were in fine fettle to begin the first day’s sight-seeing.
“What about those papers of mine, Rob? Had I better take charge of the same now, or let you continue to keep them?”
Hiram asked this question as they arose after finishing their breakfast, and found themselves facing the business of the first day at the Exposition. The whole city, as far as they could see, was in gala attire. Bunting and flags were everywhere visible; and it was evident that the good people of San Francisco, in spite of many great discouragements, such as the breaking out of the World War abroad, and the failure of the canal to stay dug on account of the slides, were doing all in their power to make the fair a huge success.
“If you leave it with me to decide, Hiram,” the scout leader remarked, “I’d say no to both your propositions.”
“But what’s to be done with them, then?” cried Hiram, as though puzzled by what the other had just said.
“He means to duplicate our plan down at Los Angeles,” spoke up wideawake Andy.
“Oh! put them in the hotel safe till they’re wanted, is that the idea, Rob?” demanded the owner of the said packet that had been giving them all manner of trouble since the time they left San Antonio in Texas.
“That seems the best scheme, according to my mind,” Hiram was told by the one in whom he felt such abiding faith. “Then, no matter what you find out about those people you’ve come to see, the papers needn’t worry you.”
“Guess you’re right about that, Rob, and it’s a go. Just as like as not I would be doing some fool play, and mebbe losing the precious documents that are to prove my case with the Golden Gate folks. I’ll go to the desk with you any time you’re ready, and see that the clerk gets my property snugged away in his safe.”
When this had been done they set out. Rob, of course, had his suitcase along with him. He had taken out what few things of his own it contained, and now it held only the precious documents and other small exhibits that Professor McEwen had been carrying in person to his scientific colleagues at the Exposition, where they were to be placed with other articles.
What those numerous small rolls and packages contained none of the scouts really knew. From some remarks, let fall by Judge Collins, Rob had an idea they might be papyrus records found in some old ancient tomb or pyramid, and said to have come down from thousands of years back. To the boys these would not have been worth their bulk in sandwiches, possibly, because they could not appreciate their intrinsic value; but in the eyes of such men as the Scotch professor they represented treasures beyond any computation, far too valuable to be intrusted to a common express company that might lose them, or deliver them in a crushed condition.
“There’s a tower I can see; it must be the one that from our window last night seemed as if a million fireflies had lighted on it,” announced Andy, with more or less excitement as they found themselves close to one of the gates where entrance to the Exposition grounds could be had.
“Yes, that must be the Tower of Jewels,” said Rob, “and I should call it pretty well named in the bargain. They’ve certainly chosen a splendid spot for the Fair, fronting, as it does, on the bay, with its wide sweep of water, and with the city rising up on tiers of terraces back of it.”
“That must be the Zone over there,” Andy continued, eagerly; “because you can see a monster seesaw, with one arm away up hundreds of feet in the air, and what looks like a car on it full of folks. Yes, I remember it now; it is called the Aëroscope.”
“Just what it is, Andy,” said Rob, “and when we get up there for a look over the harbor, the Exposition grounds and the city, we’ll find ourselves just three hundred and twenty-five feet off the earth—high enough to make you dizzy.”
“Huh! seems like they do things on a big scale out this way,” grunted Hiram.
“I reckon our Coney Island would hardly be in the swim with this show,” Andy declared, as they paid their way at the gate and entered the grounds.
Colossal buildings could be seen on all sides, most of them dazzling in the sunlight. Rob had studied the arrangement of these buildings so well that he appeared to recognize them now as though entirely familiar with his surroundings. It was evident that the little party would not have much use for a guide as long as Rob was along to serve them in that capacity.
“I calculate that this is the Panama-Pacific Court of the Universe,” he told his chums, “and that building over there is the Palace of Agriculture, while this other must be the Palace of Transportation; then there’s the Palace of Horticulture where you can see that huge glass dome. Over there is the Column of Progress, more than a hundred and fifty feet high, and overlooking the Marino.”
The boys surveyed these sights with more or less awe.
“I suppose,” ventured Hiram, “after we’ve nosed around here for a week or two we’ll feel as much to hum with these big buildings as if we were in Hampton, and lookin’ at our Odd Fellows’ Temple. But what a heap of things they must all of ’em hold. It’ll keep us hustlin’ to see the hull lot, workin’ ten hours a day for weeks.”
“Oh! well, none of us expect to see everything that’s on exhibit here,” said Rob. “Our tastes are not wholly alike, either. I may want to spend most of my time in a certain quarter that wouldn’t interest you other fellows to any great extent; and on your part I’ve no doubt there are certain things that will hold you spellbound, yet which we may only care to take one good look at.”
At that Andy started to chuckle.
“I warrant you I can guess where Hiram will be found pretty much all his time at the show,” he remarked, pointedly; and of course the other scout felt impelled to take him up on that positive assertion.
“Say where, then, if you know so much, Mr. Smarty,” he asked Andy.
“Just as soon as he gets the locations down pat,” began the other, “you’ll never see him a great way off from the quarter where the inventions are being exhibited. He’s daffy on mechanics and such things; and he’ll be worse than any sticking plaster you ever saw, once he gets planted in front of the booths, or finds out where the aëroplanes are going up every little while.”
“Oh! well, I own up that’s mostly what I wanted to come all the way out here for,” said Hiram, frankly. “But it’s a toss-up, Andy, that once you get in that amusement park they call the Zone, a place of more’n sixty acres, I read, you’ll spend most of your time watching the Fiji Islanders dance, or riding around on that observation car to view the wonders of Yellowstone Park, or mebbe the Great Colorado Canyon.”
“I can’t get there any too soon, I’m telling you, boys,” Andy confessed. “Both of you have come out here on business as well as sight-seeing; but it’s different in my case. I’m carefree, and bound to enjoy myself to the limit. In good time I’ll wander all over every building in the grounds; but first I want to be amused so as to forget the troubles of our long trip here.”
“It’s very evident,” began Rob, “that we’ll have to settle on some particular place as a sort of general round-up. If each one is going to start off on his own hook, now and then, unless we fix it that way, we might wander all day long through the enormous buildings, and the grounds covered by this Fair, and never meet.”
“Well thought of, Rob!” cried Andy. “Let me suggest that we take this queer-looking tobacconist shop as our rendezvous. We can make an arrangement with the owner for a couple of dollars or so, to take messages, and hold the same for the rest of the bunch.”
“The sooner that’s arranged the better it’ll suit me, I guess,” said Hiram, who was plainly on needles and pins while being kept from hunting up the building in which he would find myriads of remarkable devices illustrating the inventive genius of the world, and particularly of those from the American nation.
“Of course I’m going at once to the exhibit in which Professor McEwen is interested,” said Rob, after they had arranged with the proprietor of the Oriental tobacco booth, “because I’ll not feel easy until I’ve done my part of the contract, and delivered the stuff he intrusted to our charge.”
“H’m, that means me too, I suppose, Rob,” observed Andy, sighing.
“Oh! I could do it alone,” Rob started to say, when Andy braced up, bit his lip, and continued:
“That was the old selfish streak in me speaking then, Rob. You’ll have to overlook it once more. Of course, I’ll not let you finish this business by yourself. It would be a fine way of acting on my part, now, wouldn’t it—taking the goods and then refusing to pay for the same? Here, let me carry the bag a while. I’m going to be your shadow for this one day anyhow; though p’raps, after all, we can manage to drop in at the Zone, and see what’s what in that interesting district.”
Rob laughed.
“I’ll make a special point of it to oblige you, Andy,” he said, clapping the other on the shoulder. “As for Hiram, I can understand why he’s so anxious to find out where the aviation field lies. We’ve got to remember that his business is with parties who are altogether interested in airships and flying.”