CHAPTER IX.

A VIEW OF THE ENEMY.

"Where is he?" cried Bob.

"He must have gone down through a hole in the earth," said Ned. "I didn't have my eyes off him three seconds. He didn't go down the road or we would have seen him, and he couldn't have run into the bushes on either side without making a great racket. He's a queer one."

"Just like the East Indian jugglers I've read about," put in Jerry.

"I think probably he was something on that order," agreed Professor Snodgrass. "Strange how he should have known about the buried city, and we have spoken to no one about it since we came to Mexico."

"Let's look and see if we can find a trace of him," suggested Bob.

The boys alighted from the car. They made a careful search around the spot where the old man had sat. There was the circle he had drawn in the dust, and the mark where the powder had burned, but not another trace of the Mexican could they find. They looked behind trees and rocks, but all they found was big toads and lizards that hopped and crawled away as they approached. The professor annexed several of the reptiles for specimens.

"How do you explain it all?" asked Jerry of the naturalist, when they had taken their seats in the automobile again. "Have those men any supernatural powers?"

"I do not believe they have," replied the professor. "They do some things that are hard to explain, but they are sharp enough to do their tricks under their own conditions, and they disappear before those who can see them have gotten over their momentary surprise."

"The disappearing was the funny part of it," went on Jerry. "I can understand how he made the smoke. A pinch of gunpowder would produce that. But how did he dissolve himself into thin air?"

"He didn't," replied the naturalist. "I'll tell you how that was done. It is a favorite trick in India. When he suddenly called to us to look behind us he took advantage of our momentary glance away to hide himself."

"But where?"

"Behind that big rock," and the naturalist pointed to a large one near where the Mexican had been sitting.

"But we looked behind that," said Ned.

"Yes, several minutes after the disappearance," went on the professor, with a laugh. "This was how he did it: He wore a long, gray cloak, which, perhaps, you didn't notice. It was exactly the color of the stone and was partly draped over it. It was there all the while he was doing his trick. I saw it, but thought nothing of it at the time. Now, when he had finished the hocus-pocus, and when our heads were turned, he just rolled himself up into a ball and got under the cloak by the stone. Of course, it looked as if he had dropped down through the earth."

"But how about him getting away so completely that our search didn't reveal him?" asked Jerry.

"I think he waited a while and then, when he heard us getting out of the automobile he took advantage of the confusion to crawl, still under his cloak, into the bushes, perhaps by a path he alone knew. There really is no mystery to it."

"How about him telling us we were searching for the buried city?" asked Bob. "Wasn't that mind-reading?"

"I think he knew that part of it," said the professor, "though it seemed strange to me at first. You must remember that the object of our trip was pretty freely talked of back in the gold camp. Some one may have come here from there before we started, and, in some manner, this old Mexican may have heard of us. He may even have been waiting for us. No; it looks queer when it happens, but reasoned out, it is natural enough. However, I am glad to know we are on the right road and will find what we are searching for, though the old man may be mistaken."

"Shall we go forward again?" asked Jerry, resuming his place at the steering wheel.

"Forward it is!" cried Ned. "Ho, for the buried city!"

Once more the auto puffed along the forest road. It was warm with the heat of the tropics, and the boys were soon glad to take off their coats and collars. Even with the breeze created by the movement of the machine, it was oppressive.

"I say, when are we going to eat?" asked Bob. "I know it's long past noon."

"Wrong for once, Chunky," answered Ned, looking at his watch. "It's only eleven o'clock."

"Well, here's a good place to stop and eat, anyhow," went on the stout lad, to whom eating never came amiss.

"All right, we'll camp," put in Jerry, bringing the machine to a stop.

It was rather pleasant in the shade of the forest in spite of the heat, and the boys enjoyed it very much. The gasolene stove was lighted and Ned made some chocolate, for, since their advent into Mexico the travelers had come to like this beverage, which almost every one down in that country drinks. With this and some frijoles and cold chicken brought from the inn, they made a good meal.

"I'm going to hunt for some specimens," announced the professor. "You boys can rest here for an hour or so."

With his green collecting box and his butterfly net the naturalist disappeared along a path that led through the forest.

"I suppose he'll come back with a blue-nosed baboon or a flat-headed gila monster," said Ned. "He does find the queerest things."

It was almost an hour later, when the boys were wondering what had become of the naturalist, that they heard faint shouts in the direction he had taken.

"Hurry, boys!" the professor's voice called. "Hurry! Help! help! I'm caught!"

"He's in trouble again!" exclaimed Ned. "We must go to his rescue!"

"Have you got your revolver?" asked Jerry, as Ned was about to rush away.

"No; it's in the auto."

"Better get it. I'll take a rifle along. Bob, you bring the rope. No telling what has happened, and we may need all three."

With rifle, revolver and rope the three boys rushed into the forest to the rescue of their friend. They could hear his shouts more plainly now.

"Hurry or he'll kill me!" cried the professor.

Running at top speed the boys emerged into a sort of clearing. There they saw a sight that filled them with terror.

Professor Snodgrass was standing underneath a tree, from one of the lower branches of which a big snake had dropped its sinuous folds about him. The reptile was slowly winding its coils about the unfortunate man, tightening and tightening them. Its ugly head was within a few feet of the professor's face, and the man was striking at the snake with the butterfly net.

"We're coming! We'll save you!" shouted Jerry.

The boy started to run close to the naturalist, intending to get near enough to fire at the snake's head without danger of hitting the professor.

"Look out!" yelled Bob, pointing to the ground in front of the tree. "There's another of the reptiles!"

As he spoke a second snake reared its head from the grass, right in the path Jerry would have taken. Bob had warned him just in time.

Jerry dropped to one knee. He took quick but careful aim at the snake on the ground and fired. The reptile thrashed about in a death struggle, for the bullet had crashed through its head.

"Now for the other one!" cried Jerry.

He ran in close to the reptile that was slowly crushing the professor to death. The unfortunate naturalist could no longer cry for help, so weak was he.

Jerry placed the muzzle of the rifle close to the snake's head, and pulled the trigger. The ugly folds relaxed, the long, sinuous body straightened out and the professor would have fallen had not Jerry, dropping his gun, caught him. The other boys came to his aid, and they carried the naturalist to one side and placed him on the grass.

Bringing water from a nearby spring, Bob soon restored the professor to his senses.

"I'm all right," said the collector in a few minutes. "The breath was about squeezed out of me, though."

"You had a narrow escape," said Ned.

"Thanks to you boys, it ended fortunately," said the naturalist. "You see, I was trying to capture a new kind of tree-toad, and I didn't see the snake until it had me in its folds. I'll be more careful next time."

In a little while the professor was able to walk. Jerry recovered his gun and the whole party made their way back to the auto.

The camp utensils were soon packed up and the journey was resumed.

"I wonder what sort of an inn we'll stop at to-night?" said Bob. "I hope they don't have any robbers."

"We won't run any chances," spoke Ned. "We'll post a guard."

For several hours the auto chugged along. As it came to the top of a hill the boys saw below them quite a good-sized village.

"There's where we'll spend the night," remarked Jerry. "Hello! What's that?" and he pointed to some object round a turn of the road, just ahead of them.

"It looks like an automobile," said the professor.

"It is!" cried Ned. "And Noddy Nixon is in it!"