Appleton, Victor – Tom Swift in the Land of Wonders

“But how comes it, Ned Newton, that you are not in the bank?”

“I’ve left there,” explained Ned.

“He’s now general financial man for the Swift Company,” Tom explained. “My father and I found that we could not look after the inventing and experimental end, and money matters, too, and as Ned had had considerable experience this way we made him take over those worries,” and Tom laughed genially.

“No worries at all, as far as the Swift Company is concerned,” returned Ned.

“Well, I guess you earn your salary,” laughed Tom. “But now, Professor Bumper, let’s hear from you. Is there anything more about this idol of gold that you can tell us?”

“Plenty, Tom, plenty. I could talk all day, and not get to the end of the story. But a lot

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of it would be scientific detail that might be too dry for you in spite of this excellent lemonade,”

Between them Koku and Eradicate had managed to make a pitcher of the beverage, though Mrs. Baggert, the housekeeper, told Tom afterward that the two had a quarrel in the kitchen as to who should squeeze the lemons, the giant insisting that he had the better right to “punch” them.

“So, not to go into too many details,” went on the professor, “I’ll just give you a brief outline of this story of the idol of gold.

“Honduras, as you of course know, is a republic of Central America, and it gets its name from something that happened on the fourth voyage of Columbus. He and his men had had days of weary sailing and had sought in vain for shallow water in which they might come to an anchorage. Finally they reached the point now known as Cape Gracias-�-Dios, and when they let the anchor go, and found that in a short time it came to rest on the floor of the ocean, some one of the sailors — perhaps Columbus himself — is said to have remarked: