“If you have fully decided to go,” said Mrs. Hopkins, who just then entered the room; “and I suppose that you have, there is no use in delaying, Jerry. Really, I am a little worried about the dangers of the trip, but since we have invested our money in it, I would rather you than that Nixon boy get the gold nuggets.”
“That’s what, momsey!” cried Jerry, kissing her, at which she laughed, for mother and son were great “chums.”
“Then trot out the airship and let’s give her a trial!” exclaimed Harvey Brill. “I’ve never ridden in one of the shebangs, but I’ll take a chance in one. The papers are all fixed up now, I have telegraphed the money to take up the option on the mine, and all that’s to be done is to go get the hidden nuggets.”
“And the snakes—don’t forget them,” put in the scientist, eagerly watching a fly on the wall, as if hoping it would prove to be a rare variety.
“All right,” agreed Jerry. “There’s just one point to be thought of though, and when the professor mentioned snakes it occurred to me. Now we don’t want to start off and arrive on the border as a party of prospectors looking for gold nuggets. If we do, we’ll have a trail of men after us who are always on the lookout to take advantage of news of a rich strike. And, too, if the grub-stakers are still on the watch, they’ll hear about us and make trouble.”
“What can we do, though?” asked Bob.
“Pretend that we’re a party of scientists out for rare specimens of various kinds. In effect Professor Snodgrass will be the head of the scientific expedition, and we will be his assistants. How is that?”
“Fine!” cried Ned.
“That ought to fool ’em,” said Bob.
“I think it will be just the thing,” came from Jim Nestor. “As you say, Jerry, we want to keep this thing as quiet as possible. So, Professor, you can regard us as members of your luminous-snake-hunting expedition.”