“Bravo!” exclaimed Mr. Damon.  “It’s a good theory, at any rate, Tom.  Though whether you can ever prove it is a question.”

“Yes, and a big one,” agreed the young inventor with a laugh.

For some days they traveled along over a comparatively flat country, bordering the river.  At times they would pass through small native villages, where they would be able to get fresh meat, poultry and other things that varied their bill of fare.  Again there would be long, lonely stretches of forest or jungle, through which it was difficult to make their way.  And, occasionally they would come to fair-sized towns where their stay was made pleasant.

“I doan’t see any ob dem oranges an’ bananas droppin’ inter mah mouf, Massa Tom,” complained Eradicate one day, after they had been on the march for over a week.

“Have patience, Rad,” advised Tom.  “We’ll come to them when we get a little farther into the interior.  First we’ll come to the monkeys, and the cocoanut trees.”

“Hones’ Massa Tom?”

“Surely.”

And though it was pretty far south for the nimble simians, the next day they did come upon a drove of them skipping about in the tall palm trees.

“There they are, Rad!  There they are!” cried Ned, as the chattering of the monkeys filled the forest.

“By golly!  So dey be!  Heah’s where I get some cocoanuts!”

Before anyone could stop him, Eradicate caught up a dead branch, and threw it at a monkey.  The chattering increased, and almost instantly a shower of cocoanuts came crashing down, narrowly missing some of our friends.

“Hold on, Rad!  Hold on!” cried Tom.  “Some of us will be hurt!”

Crack! came a cocoanut down on the skull of the colored man.

“Bless my court plaster!  Someone’s hurt now!” cried Mr. Damon.

“Hurt?  Bless yo’ heart, Massa Damon, it takes mo’ dan dat t’ hurt dish yeah chile!” cried Eradicate with a grin.  “Ah got a hard head, Ah has, mighty hard head, an’ de cocoanut ain’t growed dat kin bust it.  Thanks, Mistah Monkey, thanks!” and with a laugh Eradicate jumped off his mule, and began gathering up the nuts, while the monkeys fled into the forest.

“Very much good to drink milk,” said San Pedro, as he picked up a half-ripe nut, and showed how to chop off the top with a big knife and drain the slightly acid juice inside.  “Very much good for thirst.”

“Let’s try it,” proposed Tom, and they all drank their fill, for there were many cocoanuts, though it was rather an isolated grove of them.

The monkeys became more numerous as they proceeded farther north toward the equator, for it must be remembered that they had landed south of it, and at times the little animals became a positive nuisance.

Several days passed, and they crossed the Parana river and struck into the almost unpenetrated tract of land where Tom hoped to find the giants.  As yet none of their escort dreamed of the object of the expedition, and though Tom had caused scouts to be sent back over their trail to learn if they were being followed there was no trace of any one.