Tom Swift in Captivity | Page 7

article. But none of
them were very big. A shade under eight feet was the limit with me."
"I also have lots of wild animals, and it was when some of my men

were out after some tapirs, jaguars and leopards that I got on the track
of the giants. It was about a year ago, but up to this time I haven't seen
my way clear to send after the big men. It was this way:"
Mr. Preston assumed a more comfortable position in his chair, nodded
at Mr. Damon, who was listening attentively to all that was said, and
resumed.
"As I said I had sent Jake Poddington, one of my best men, after tapirs
and some other South American animals. He didn't have very good luck
hunting along the Amazon. In the first place that region has been pretty
well cleaned out of circus animals, and another thing it's getting too
well populated. Another thing is that you can't get the native hunters
and beaters to work for you as they did years ago."
"So Poddington wrote to me that he was going to take his assistants,
make a big jump, and hike it for the Argentine Republic. He had a tip
that along the Salado river there might be something doing, and I told
him to go ahead."
"He shipped me what few animals he had, and lit out for a three
thousand mile journey. I didn't hear from him for some time, and, when
I did, I got the finest collection of animals I had ever laid eyes on. I got
them about the same time I did a letter from Jake, for the mail service
ain't what you could call rushing in that part of South America."
"But what about the giants?" interrupted Mr. Damon.
"I'm coming to them," replied the circus man calmly. "It was this way:
At the tail of his letter which he sent with the shipment of animals Jake
said this, and I remember it almost word for word:"
"'If all goes well,' he wrote, 'I'll have a big surprise for you soon. I've
heard a story about a race of big natives that have their stamping
ground in this section, and I'm going to try for a few specimens. I know
how much you want a giant.'"
"Well?" asked Tom, after a pause, for the circus man had ceased

talking and was staring out of the opened library window into the
garden that was just becoming green.
"That was all I ever heard from poor Jake," said Mr. Preston softly.
"Bless my insurance policy!" gasped Mr. Damon. "You didn't tell me
that! What happened to him."
"I never could find out," resumed Mr. Preston. "I never heard another
word from him, and I've never seen him from the time I parted with
him to go after the animals. The letter saying he was going after the
giants was the last line of his I've seen."
"But didn't you try to locate him?" asked Tom. "Didn't he have some
companions--some one who could tell what became of him?"
"Of course I tried!" exclaimed Mr. Preston. "Do you think I'd let a man
like Jake disappear without making some effort to find him? But he
was the only white man in his party, the rest were natives. That was
Jake's way. Well, when some time past and I didn't hear from him, I got
busy. I wrote to our consuls and even some South American merchants
with whom I had done business. But it didn't amount to anything."
"Couldn't you get any news?" asked Ned softly.
"Oh, yes, some, but it didn't amount to much. After a long time, and no
end of trouble, I had a man locate a native named Zacatas, who was the
head beater of the black men under Jake."
"Zacatas said that he and Jake and the others got safely to the Salado
river section, but I knew that before, for that was where the fine
shipment of animals came from. Then Jake got that tip about the giants,
and set off alone into the interior to locate them, for all the natives were
afraid to go. That was the last seen of poor Jake."
"Bless my fire shovel!" cried Mr. Damon. "What did Zacatas say
became of the poor fellow?"

"No one knew. Whether he reached giant land and was killed there, or
whether he was struck down by some wild beast in the jungle, I never
could find out. The natives under Zacatas waited in camp for him for
some time, and then went back to the Amazon region where they
belonged. That's all the news I could get."
"But I'm sure there are giants in the interior of South America, for Jake
always knew what he