Something like a great whip was beating about close to two trees that grew near together. And then, when the storm of twigs4, leaves and dirt, caused by the leaping, threshing thing ceased for a moment, the onlookers5 saw something that filled them with terror.
Between the two trees, and seemingly bound to them by a great coiled rope, spotted6 and banded, was the body of Professor Bumper. His arms were pinioned7 to his sides and there was horror and terror on his face, that looked imploringly8 at the youths from above the topmost coil of those encircling him.
"What is it?" cried Mr. Damon, as he ran pantingly up. "What has caught him? Is it the giant iguana9?"
"It's a snake—a great boa!" gasped10 Tom. "It has him in its coils. But it is wound around the trees, too. That alone prevents it from crushing the professor to death.
"Ned, be ready with your rifle. Put in the heaviest charge, and watch your chance to fire!"
The great, ugly head of the boa reared itself up from the coils which it had, with the quickness of thought, thrown about the man between the two trees. This species of snake is not poisonous, and kills its prey11 by crushing it to death, making it into a pulpy12 mass, with scarcely a bone left unbroken, after which it swallows its meal. The crushing power of one of these boas, some of which reach a length of thirty feet, with a body as large around as that of a full-grown man, is enormous.
"I'm going to fire!" suddenly cried Tom. He had seen his chance and he took it. There was the faint report—the crack of the electric rifle—and the folds of the serpent seemed to relax.
"I see a good chance now," added Ned, who had taken the small charge from his weapon, replacing it with a heavier one.
His rifle was also discharged in the direction of the snake, and Tom saw that the hit was a good one, right through the ugly head of the reptile13.
"One other will be enough to make him loosen his coils!" cried Tom, as he fired again, and such was the killing14 power of the electric bullets that the snake, though an immense one, and one that short of decapitation could have received many injuries without losing power, seemed to shrivel up.
Its folds relaxed, and the coils of the great body fell in a heap at the roots of the two trees, between which the scientist had been standing15.
Professor Bumper seemed to fall backward as the grip of the serpent relaxed, but Tom, dropping his rifle, and calling to Ned to keep an eye on the snake, leaped forward and caught his friend.
"Are you hurt?" asked Tom, carrying the limp form over to a grassy16 place. There was no answer, the savant's eyes were closed and he breathed but faintly.
"I guess he's all in," he called to Tom.
"Bless my horseradish! And so our friend seems to be," commented Mr. Damon. "Have you anything with which to revive him, Tom?"
"Yes. Some ammonia. See if you can find a little water."
Tom mixed a dose of the spirits which he carried with him, and this, forced between the pallid19 lips of the scientist, revived him.
"What happened?" he asked faintly as he opened his eyes. "Oh, yes, I remember," he added slowly. "The boa——"
"Don't try to talk," urged Tom. "You're all right. The snake is dead, or dying. Are you much hurt?"
Professor Bumper appeared to be considering. He moved first one limb, then another. He seemed to have the power over all his muscles.
"I see how it happened," he said, as he sat up, after taking a little more of the ammonia. "I was following the iguana, and when the big lizard20 came to a stop, in a little hollow place in the ground, at the foot of those two trees, I leaned over to slip a noose21 of rope about its neck. Then I felt myself caught, as if in the hands of a giant, and bound fast between the two trees."
"It was the big boa that whipped itself around you, as you leaned over," explained Tom, as Ned came up to announce that the snake was no longer dangerous. "But when it coiled around you it also coiled around the two trees, you, fortunately slipping between them. Had it not been that their trunks took off some of the pressure of the coils you wouldn't have lasted a minute."
"Well, I was pretty badly squeezed as it was," remarked the professor. "I hardly had breath enough left to call to you. I tried to fight off the serpent, but it was of no use."
"I should say not!" cried Mr. Damon. "Bless my circus ring! one might as well try to combat an elephant! But, my dear professor, are you all right now?"
Professor Bumper was indeed unable to go about much for a few days after his encounter with the great serpent. He stretched out in a hammock under trees in the camp clearing, and with his friends waited for the possible return of Tolpec and the porters.
Ned and Tom made one or two short hunting trips, and on these occasions they kept a lookout23 in the direction the Indian had taken when he went away.
"For he's sure to come back that way—if he comes at all," declared Ned; "which I am beginning to doubt."
"Well, he may not come," agreed Tom, who was beginning to lose some of his first hope. "But he won't necessarily come from the same direction he took. He may have had to go in an entirely24 different way to get help. We'll hope for the best."
A week passed. Professor Bumper was able to be about, and Tom and Ned noticed that there was an anxious look on his face. Was he, too, beginning to despair?
"Well, this isn't hunting for golden idols25 very fast," said Mr. Damon, the morning of the eighth day after their desertion by the faithless Jacinto. "What do you say, Professor Bumper; ought we not to start off on our own account?"
"We had better if Tolpec does not return today," was the answer.
They had eaten breakfast, had put their camp in order, and were about to have a consultation26 on what was best to do, when Tom suddenly called to Ned, who was whistling:
"Hark!"
Through the jungle came a faint sound of singing—not a harmonious27 air, but the somewhat barbaric chant of the natives.
"It is Tolpec coming back!" cried Mr. Damon. "Hurray! Now our troubles are over! Bless my meal ticket! Now we can start!"
"It may be Jacinto," suggested Ned.
"Nonsense! you old cold-water pitcher28!" cried Tom. "It's Tolpec! I can see him! He's a good scout29 all right!"
And then, walking at the head of a band of Indians who were weirdly30 chanting while behind them came a train of mules31, was Tolpec, a cheerful grin covering his honest, if homely32, dark face.
"Me come back!" he exclaimed in gutteral English, using about half of his foreign vocabulary.
"I see you did," answered Professor Bumper in the man's own tongue. "Glad to see you. Is everything all right?"
"All right," was the answer. "These Indians will take you where you want to go, and will not leave you as Jacinto did."
"We'll start in the morning!" exclaimed the savant his own cheerful self again, now that there was a prospect33 of going further into the interior. "Tell the men to get something to eat, Tolpec. There is plenty for all."
"Good!" grunted34 the new guide and soon the hungry Indians, who had come far, were satisfying their hunger.
As they ate Tolpec explained to Professor Bumper, who repeated it to the youths and Mr. Damon, that it had been necessary to go farther than he had intended to get the porters and mules. But the Indians were a friendly tribe, of which he was a member, and could be depended on.
There was a feast and a sort of celebration in camp that night. Tom and Ned shot two deer, and these formed the main part of the feast and the Indians made merry about the fire until nearly midnight. They did not seem to mind in the least the swarms35 of mosquitoes and other bugs36 that flew about, attracted by the light. As for Tom Swift and his friends, their nets protected them.
An early start was made the following morning. Such packages of goods and supplies as could not well be carried by the Indians in their head straps37, were loaded on the backs of the pack-mules. Tolpec explained that on reaching the Indian village, where he had secured the porters, they could get some ox-carts which would be a convenience in traveling into the interior toward the Copan valley.
The march onward38 for the next two days was tiresome39; but the Indians Tolpec had secured were as faithful and efficient as he had described them, and good progress was made.
There were a few accidents. One native fell into a swiftly running stream as they were fording it and lost a box containing some much-needed things. But as the man's life was saved Professor Bumper said it made up for the other loss. Another accident did not end so auspiciously41. One of the bearers was bitten by a poisonous snake, and though prompt measures were taken, the poison spread so rapidly that the man died.
In due season the Indian village was reached, where, after a day spent in holding funeral services over the dead bearer, preparations were made for proceeding42 farther.
This time some of the bearers were left behind, and ox-carts were substituted for them, as it was possible to carry more goods this way.
"And now we're really off for Copan!" exclaimed Professor Bumper one morning, when the cavalcade43, led by Tolpec in the capacity of head guide, started off. "I hope we have no more delays."
"I hope not, either," agreed Tom. "That Beecher may be there ahead of us."
Weary marches fell to their portion. There were mountains to climb, streams to ford40 or swim, sending the carts over on rudely made rafts. There were storms to endure, and the eternal heat to fight.
But finally the party emerged from the lowlands of the coast and went up in among the hills, where though the going was harder, the climate was better. It was not so hot and moist.
Not wishing to attract attention in Copan itself, Professor Bumper and his party made a detour44, and finally, after much consultation with Tom over the ancient maps, the scientist announced that he thought they were in the vicinity of the buried city.
"We will begin test excavations45 in the morning," he said.
The party was in camp, and preparations were made for spending the night in the forest, when from among the trees there floated to the ears of our friends a queer Indian chant.
"Some one is coming," said Tom to Ned.
Almost as he spoke46 there filed into the clearing where the camp had been set up, a cavalcade of white men, followed by Indians. And at the sight of one of the white men Tom Swift uttered a cry.
"Professor Beecher!" gasped the young inventor.
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收听单词发音
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1
bumper
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| n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的 | |
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imploring
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| 恳求的，哀求的 | |
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lashing
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| n.鞭打；痛斥；大量；许多v.鞭打( lash的现在分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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4
twigs
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| 细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 ) | |
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onlookers
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| n.旁观者，观看者( onlooker的名词复数 ) | |
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spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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7
pinioned
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| v.抓住[捆住]（双臂）( pinion的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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imploringly
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| adv. 恳求地, 哀求地 | |
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iguana
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| n.美洲大蜥蜴，鬣鳞蜥 | |
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gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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11
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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12
pulpy
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| 果肉状的，多汁的，柔软的； 烂糊； 稀烂 | |
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reptile
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| n.爬行动物；两栖动物 | |
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killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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15
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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flask
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| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
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pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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lizard
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| n.蜥蜴，壁虎 | |
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noose
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| n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑 | |
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lame
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| adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
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lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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24
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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idols
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| 偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像 | |
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consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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harmonious
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| adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的 | |
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pitcher
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| n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手 | |
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29
scout
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| n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索 | |
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30
weirdly
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| 古怪地 | |
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31
mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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32
homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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34
grunted
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| （猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说 | |
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35
swarms
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| 蜂群，一大群( swarm的名词复数 ) | |
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36
bugs
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| adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误 | |
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37
straps
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| n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
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38
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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39
tiresome
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| adj.令人疲劳的，令人厌倦的 | |
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40
Ford
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| n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过 | |
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41
auspiciously
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| adv.吉利； 繁荣昌盛； 前途顺利； 吉祥 | |
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42
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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43
cavalcade
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| n.车队等的行列 | |
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44
detour
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| n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道 | |
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45
excavations
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| n.挖掘( excavation的名词复数 )；开凿；开凿的洞穴（或山路等）；（发掘出来的）古迹 | |
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46
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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