But to all his efforts they turned a deaf ear, and without waiting hurried him across the ridge and along the southern incline. The pick was taken away from him, and his clothing examined, but to his surprise nothing was taken from his pockets, although he carried a small knife, and other trinkets that the boys had made.
The march was kept up for fully four hours directly to the south and then turned to the east, and shortly before night the village came into view. His arrival created great excitement; and all turned out to welcome the strange man.
Months before this the Professor, in the course of his experimental work, had made what is called synthetic food—that is, the same material substances as are used in any particular vegetable, are combined to have the same food qualities as the real article, and when put up in tablet form it requires but a small compass to give as much nutriment as a full meal.
It was fortunate that this and the other contents of his pockets were not removed at the time of the capture, because those tablets became a wonderful agent, as the subsequent story will show.
When he arrived his captors took him to the chief at once, and he treated the head of the tribe with the greatest deference. The house of the chief was the most pretentious in the village, as there were three rooms to be seen, and passing by the open passageway at one side he saw a child, probably ten years of age, lying on a couch.
Evidently it was suffering, as its wan and drawn face indicated. After making his deference to the chief, he turned to the little sufferer, and the women shrieked and threw themselves in his way. He turned to the chief, and pointed to the child, and moved in that direction.
The chief gave an order, and the women stepped aside. The Professor knelt down and took the child’s hand and felt its brow, while the chief looked on in astonishment. Turning to the chief he motioned for water, and indicated this by making the motion of pouring water from glass to glass.
It was instantly understood, and when the water came, in a small gourd, he asked for another, or smaller vessel. Then reaching in his pockets he drew forth one of the small vials which the boys had made, and poured a small portion into the small gourd, and forced some of it past the lips of the little sufferer.
Portable