第33章

THE LOST MAP

The on-marching company of white men, with their Indian attendants, came to a halt on the edge of the clearing as they caught sight of the tents already set up there.The barbaric chant of the native bearers ceased abruptly, and there was a look of surprise shown on the face of Professor Fenimore Beecher.For Professor Beecher it was, in the lead of the rival expedition.

"Bless my shoe laces!" exclaimed Mr.Damon.

"Is it really Beecher?" asked Ned, though he knew as well as Tom that it was the young archaeologist.

"It certainly is!" declared Tom."And he has nerve to follow us so closely!""Maybe he thinks we have nerve to get here ahead of him," suggested Ned, smiling grimly.

"Probably," agreed Tom, with a short laugh."Well, it evidently surprises him to find us here at all, after the mean trick he played on us to get Jacinto to lead us into the jungle and desert us.""That's right," assented Ned."Well, what's the next move?"There seemed to be some doubt about this on the part of both expeditions.At the sight of Professor Beecher, Professor Bumper, who had come out of his tent, hurriedly turned to Tom and asked him what he thought it best to do.

"Do!" exclaimed the eccentric Mr.Damon, not giving Tom time to reply."Why, stand your ground, of course! Bless my house and lot! but we're here first! For the matter of that, I suppose the jungle is free and we can no more object to his coming: here than he can to our coming.First come, first served, I suppose is the law of the forest."Meanwhile the surprise occasioned by the unexpected meeting of their rivals seemed to have spread something like consternation among the white members of the Beecher party.As for the natives they evidently did not care one way or the other.

There was a hasty consultation among the professors accompanyingMr.Beecher, and then the latter himself advanced toward the tents of Tom and his friends and asked:

"How long have you been here?"

"I don't see that we are called upon to answer that question," replied Professor Bumper stiffly.

"Perhaps not, and yet----"

"There is no perhaps about it!" said Professor Bumper quickly."I know what your object is, as I presume you do mine.And, after what I may term your disgraceful and unsportsmanlike conduct toward me and my friends, I prefer not to have anything further to do with you.We must meet as strangers hereafter.""Very well," and Professor Beecher's voice was as cold and uncompromising as was his rival's."Let it be as your wish.But I must say I don't know what you mean by unsportsmanlike conduct.""An explanation would be wasted on you," said Professor Bumper stiffly."But in order that you may know I fully understand what you did I will say that your efforts to thwart us through your tool Jacinto came to nothing.We are here ahead of you.""Jacinto!" cried Professor Beecher in real or simulated surprise."Why, he was not my `tool,' as you term it.""Your denial is useless in the light of his confession," asserted Professor Bumper.

"Confession?"

"Now look here!" exclaimed the older professor, "I do not propose to lower myself by quarreling with you.I know certainly what you and your party tried to do to prevent us from getting here.But we got out of the trap you set for us, and we are on the ground first.I recognize your right to make explorations as well as ourselves, and I presume you have not fallen so low that you will not recognize the unwritten law in a case of this kind--the law which says the right of discovery belongs to the one who first makes it.""I shall certainly abide by such conduct as is usual under the circumstances," said Professor Beecher more stiffly than before."At the same time I must deny having set a trap.And as for Jacinto----""It will be useless to discuss it further!"broke in Professor Bumper."Then no more need be said," retorted the younger man."I shall giveorders to my friends, as well as to the natives, to keep away from your camp, and I shall expect you to do the same regarding mine.""I should have suggested the same thing myself," came from Tom's friend, and the two rival scientists fairly glared at one another, the others of both parties looking on with interest.

Professor Bumper turned and walked defiantly back to his tent.Professor Beecher did the same thing.Then, after a short consultation among the white members of the latter's organization, their tents were set up in another clearing, removed and separated by a screen of trees and bushes from those of Tom Swift's friends.The natives of the Beecher party also withdrew a little way from those of Professor Bumper's organization, and then preparations for spending the night in the jungle went on in the rival headquarters.

1

"I should say so!" agreed Ned.

"How do you imagine he got here nearly as soon as we did, when he did not start until later?" asked Mr.Damon.

"He did not have the unfortunate experience of being deserted in the jungle," replied Tom."He probably had Jacinto, or some of that unprincipled scoundrel's friends, show him a short route to Copan and he came on from there.""Well, I did hope we might have the ground to ourselves, at least for the preliminary explorations and excavations.But it is not to be.My rival is here," sighed Professor Bumper.

"Don't let that discourage you!" exclaimed Tom."We can fight all the better now the foe is in the open, and we know where he is.""Yes, Tom Swift, that is true," agreed the scientist."I am not going to give up, but I shall have to change my plans a little.Perhaps you will come into the tent with me," and he nodded to Tom and Ned."I want to talk over certain matters with you and Mr.Damon.""Pleased to," assented the young inventor, and his financial secretarynodded.

A little later, supper having been eaten, the camp made shipshape and the natives settled down, Tom, Ned, Mr.Damon and Professor Bumper assembled in the tent of the scientist, where a dry battery lamp gave sufficient illumination to show a number of maps and papers scattered over an improvised table.