Part 4 (1/2)

”I saw all I wanted to. But say, I was about to take a little trip in my monoplane, to see my friend Mr. Damon, when Abe's letter arrived, and you came along with your news. I started to take Eradicate, but he backed out. Don't you want to come?”

”Sure, I'll go along.”

Ned had often ridden in the trim b.u.t.terfly, though the trips had not been so frequent that he was tired of them. A little later, Tom, having adjusted the motor that had stalled before, compelling him to vol-plane back to earth, the two chums were sailing through the air toward Waterford.

”Why, bless my shoe laces!” cried Mr. Damon, as they alighted in the yard of his house, about an hour later. ”I didn't expect you, Tom.

But I'm glad to see you!”

”And I to meet you again. I guess you know Ned Newton.”

”Ah, yes. How d'ye do, Ned? Bless my appet.i.te! but it's quite chilly. We'll soon have winter. Won't you come in and have some hot chocolate?”

The boys were glad to accept the invitation, and as they were drinking the beverage, which Mrs. Damon made for them, Tom told of the receipt of the letter from the old miner, and also his experience in seeing Andy's airs.h.i.+p.

”Why, bless my pocketbook!” cried Mr. Damon. ”I had no idea we'd ever hear from Abe Abercrombie again. And so he is really coming on, to tell us about the valley of gold?”

”So he says,” replied Tom. ”I was wondering if you'd like to go, Mr.

Damon.”

”Go? Why, bless my very topknot! Of course I would. I'll go with you--only--only,” and he leaned forward and whispered cautiously, ”don't speak so loudly. My wife might hear you!”

”Doesn't she want you to go off in the airs.h.i.+p any more?” asked Tom.

”Well, she'd rather I wouldn't. But she's going on a visit to her mother, soon, and then I think will come my opportunity to take another trip with you. A valley of gold in Alaska, eh? Up where the icebergs and caves of ice are. Say, Tom, I know some one else who would be glad to go.”

”Who?” inquired the young inventor, though he had an idea to whom his friend referred.

”Mr. Parker! You know he's taken up his residence in Waterford, now, and only the other day he spoke to me about wis.h.i.+ng he could go to the far north. He has some new theory--”

”About the destruction of something or other; hasn't he, Mr. Damon?”

interrupted Tom, with a smile.

”That's it, exactly, my boy. Bless my coffeepot! But Mr. Parker has an idea that the whole northern part of this continent will soon be buried thousands of feet deep under an icy avalanche, and he wants to be there to see it. I know he'd like to go with us, Tom.”

The young inventor made a little gesture of dissent, but as he knew Mr. Damon, who was very eccentric himself, had taken a great liking to the gloomy scientist, Tom did not feel like refusing. So he said:

”All right, Mr. Damon. If we go, and I think we shall, we'll expect you and Mr. Parker. I'll let you know the result of Mr.

Abercrombie's visit, and I needn't request you to keep quiet about it. If there is a valley of gold in Alaska, we don't want everyone to know about it.”

”No, of course not, Tom Swift. I'll keep silent about it. Bless my liverpin! But I'll be glad to be on the move again, even if it is toward the Arctic regions.”

After some further talk, Tom and Ned took their departure, making good time back to Shopton in the speedy monoplane.

For several days after that Tom busied himself about his big airs.h.i.+p the RED CLOUD, for it needed quite a few repairs after the long trip to the mountains where the diamond makers had been discovered in their cave.

”And if we're going up amid the ice and snow,” reasoned Tom, ”I've got to make some different arrangements about the craft, and provide for keeping warmer than we found necessary when we went west.”

So it was that Tom had no time to learn anything further about Andy Foger's airs.h.i.+p, even had our hero been so inclined, which he was not. He looked for Abe Abercrombie any day now, for though the old miner had given no date as to when he would arrive, he had said, in his letter, that it would be soon.

It was one day, nearly a week after Tom's attempt to make Eradicate like aeroplaning, that there might have been seen, coming along the Shopton road, which led toward Tom's house, the figure of a grizzled old man. His clothes were rather rough, and he carried a valise that had, evidently, seen much service. There was that about him which proclaimed him for a westerner--a cattleman or a miner.