And here, as you may easily guess, the adventures of the Boy Inventors in Brazil practically came to an end. Soon after the discovery of the giant sloth—which was a young and not fully grown specimen—the engine was put in order and the trip to the coast resumed. Of course the entire carcass was taken, in spite of the extra weight which the Wondership bore bravely. Every hair of the beast was precious in the professor’s estimation. When the camp was reached (where they found Judkins peaceably awaiting their return, and very much better) the carcass was skinned, and the flesh boiled from the bones, which were later articulated.
After a day or two in the camp, to allow the professor time to complete his work, they all set sail for the nearest town, Bahia de Santos, five hundred miles to the north. With the discovery of the giant sloth, even though it was not an adult specimen, the professor’s task of proving that such creatures still roam the earth, was completed.
In Bahia de Santos they found a small fruit steamer bound for New Orleans. An arrangement was soon made by which they were accepted as passengers and the Wondership, that had done them such good service, traveled as freight on the steamer’s deck.
There was a wireless telegraph at Bahia, and this was kept hot for a time conveying to friends news of their safety and of the professor’s great discovery. At Bahia, too, they learned that both the boat-loads of mutineers had been picked up a short way down the coast, and, with a luck they ill deserved, they had all managed to find berths on different ships and were scattered far beyond the reach of the authorities. As the Valkyrie was amply insured, the professor had no desire to pursue them and there the matter rested.
As to the diamonds, they fetched a surprising price in the States, and the boys decided to employ their share of them in constructing a new invention with which they seem destined to have some astonishing adventures. What this new invention of the ingenious lads proved to be, and how they used it, must be saved for the telling in another volume.
Judkins was suitably recompensed and a good job was found for him on a steamship line in which Mr. Chadwick happened to be interested. Captain Sprowl was made independent by his share of the diamonds. As for Dick Donovan, his story of the finding of the Giant Sloth made him famous overnight. He now commands a big salary, but nothing so exciting as his trip to the Amazon country has engaged his attentions since. He and the boys have become fast friends and he is a frequent visitor to High Towers.
And now we will say “Good-bye” to the Boy Inventors, wishing them well till we meet them again in the next book to be devoted to their doings.
THE END.